Happily Married
by Kirinin
Summary: Ranma wakes one day to find that a couple of things are different. Nothing major, just a new life complete with child, dojo to run, and, most importantly, a spouse. Problem is, the last thing Ranma recalls is being sixteen... COMPLETE! Now in Italian too.
1. Happily Married

Happily Married

Disclaimer: As you might expect, these characters don't belong to me. Or to you. So there!

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Ranma dodged another sloppy punch. "Ya might actually hit me one of these days, P-chan," Ranma opined, leaping back to avoid Ryoga's follow-up roundhouse kick. "But not today."

Ryoga was beyond furious. He was incensed. "Hold still and DIE!"

Ranma chuckled to himself. "Fat chance, pig-boy. Besides, even if I was standin' still, your fist'd get lost on its way to my face."

Akane stood on the Tendos' back porch, a tired and irritated expression adorning her features. "Ranma, stop encouraging him!" She turned to face the Lost Boy. "Ryoga, don't let him make you lose your temper!"

"I'll take care of this, Akane," Ryoga sneered.

"I'm getting _tired_ of this," the youngest Tendo intoned ominously, slouching to seat herself on the wooden slats of the back porch, her shapely bare legs dangling off the edge.

Nabiki stood in the doorway to the house, fanning herself with her hand. "Really? Will wonders never cease!"

Akane glared daggers at her elder sister, but bit her tongue. She watched the two boys fight, a gathering storm of anger visible on her face. "I mean it," she added quietly. "If you two won't stop fighting, I'll..."

Nabiki's ears perked up. "What will you do, Akane?"

"Are you two listening to me?!" Akane demanded, springing to her feet. "Or are you too full of testosterone to listen?"

Ranma smirked as he blocked Ryoga's uppercut. "No, that's you, Akane."

The youngest Tendo bristled, going stiff. "If you feel that way, then I'm sure you'll like what I have to say. If you two won't stop going at it in my backyard like a pair of dogs, then I'll... Ranma, I'll tell my father that the engagement's off and I don't want you here anymore." She paused, to allow this to sink in. "Ever. Again."

Ranma froze. "Wait. What?!"

Ryoga's follow-up move, a right hand uppercut, caught Ranma right under the ribs, and he went flying.

_Omigosh_, he thought to himself a little hazily as he sailed through the air. _He actually hit me. Without a special technique or anything, just a distraction! _He frowned. _It's all that tomboy's fault..._

Ranma realized he was headed straight for the Tendo pond. _Wonderful. Instant girl – just add water._

Ranma could hear shouting from far away. Someone was calling his name, but it sure was taking them a long time to get through the two syllables. Why should anyone be shouting his name?

_Because you're about to hit the rocks, genius. The rocks that made you think you were a girl last time. The ones which, according to Akane, made you buy white frilly dresses and womens' underwear._

At the last second, Ranma remembered to scream. He tried to turn his head away, managed to look at Ryoga and lock gazes with him. Ryoga was saying something, and had started towards him, one hand extended. A cool flash of light seemed to surround her... she was falling away from Ryoga, faster and faster...

_Too slow._

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"Ouch!" Ranma sat bolt upright in bed in remembered pain.

Ranma gazed around her. She was in Akane's room, in Akane's bed. "Whoo, I passed out," the martial artist murmured, realizing from the tone of her voice that she must've hit the water after she'd hit her head. "Hmm. Panties. Lace. Steel Magnolias." She massaged the back of her head. "Nope. Seem to be fine."

She swung her feet down and stood. "Whooooo..." she repeated, steadying herself with one hand. She felt dizzy and a little disoriented.

Moving cautiously, she opened the door and made her way down the stairs, running one hand along the wall for something to clutch at in case another wave of dizziness struck. "Hey, Akane!" she called. _I know she's a tomboy, but it was nice of her to let me use her room._ "Akane!!! Where are you?"

No answer greeted her. "Wonder where everyone is," she murmured, straightening. She already felt a lot better. Still, a cup of hot tea might settle her upset stomach and aching head. "Kasumi?"

No reply. Ranma was beginning to have a very bad feeling. "Uh, Ryoga?"

The living room seemed to be resonating with its lack of noise. "Uhmmm..." Ranma gazed around. "Maybe they're outside?" She moved to the back door. "Hey, Akane, thanks for..."

There was no one there. Ranma was truly becoming creeped. "Would they just leave me up there, passed out?" she wondered. "It wouldn't be the first time, especially if I was takin' my own sweet time waking up." She looked up at the sun. _Looks like it's about ten in the mornin'. Guess I must've slept the whole night through!_

That made more sense. Obviously, Akane and Nabiki had gone off to school, and both Kasumi and Soun were on some sort of errand.

_But then why didn't they wake me up for school? Where's Pops?_

Maybe they couldn't. Maybe they'd tried.

Ranma shook her head. No use speculating. Maybe they'd all been abducted by aliens. Until they came home, she couldn't do much but wonder.

"I've had a free day comin' for a long time," Ranma said to herself. "And why not? Anybody who wants ta marry me or fight me is just gonna haveta wait." She grinned and moved to the kitchen to raid the fridge for some breakfast.

Ranma froze on the threshold.

The kitchen had been painted a cool, sophisticated-looking grey green. The floor was tiled with earth brown stone, and there were several pictures of leaves and flowers hanging on the walls. Although the fridge was the one she remembered, the stove had been replaced by a shiny matte grey one. It was all a far cry from the cheerful, homey, but more than out of date kitchen she remembered. Ranma wondered if the eldest Tendo daughter had given Nabiki lease to redecorate.

While Ranma was still taking this in, a small noise sounded from upstairs.

"Someone's home after all," she murmured, beginning to ascend the stairs again. Her dizziness was almost gone, but the headache at her temples was beginning to throb. She let her fingers run along the wall again, more for an emotional sense of balance than a physical one. Ranma knew when her life was about to take a turn for the weird.

The noise seemed to be coming from Nabiki's room. "Nabiki?" Ranma called.

Maybe the middle Tendo girl had just left the radio or her computer on. It certainly didn't sound like her voice on the phone.

Ranma opened the door, then paused to gape.

_All right,_Ranma said, slamming the door closed and leaning against it, doing her best to get her breathing in order. _Try again._

Ranma peeked inside Nabiki's room.

Yup. Still painted rose-pink. Still littered with toys. Crib, check.

Crying baby. Uh huh.

Ranma closed the door again. Crying baby. There was a crying kid in Nabiki's room.

Damn, but the mercenary girl was going to kill whoever'd done _this_! And who could've done it so fast?

"Waaaaahhh!!!" said the baby.

"WAAHH!" said Ranma.

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It was less than a half an hour later when Ranma heard someone moving downstairs. She leapt up from her position perched on the steps and ran to the front door. She didn't know what she wanted or expected to see, but it wasn't Tatewaki Kuno standing at her door with a bouquet of flowers and looking around the house.

"Don't you even knock?!" Ranma managed.

Kuno smirked at her. "No."

Ranma found herself a little taken aback by his confidence. "Well... Akane isn't here."

"Uh huh," Kuno said, handing her the flowers. "These are for you."

Ranma accepted the flowers automatically. "Look, I really don't have time for –"

Kuno cut her off with a wave of his hand. "You swore you'd _made _the time." He paused. "You couldn't find a sitter for Sachiko?"

"Sachiko," Ranma repeated slowly. "You mean the baby?"

He frowned at her. "If the sitter cancelled on you at the last minute, we can just take her along."

"Take her along where?! I'm not going on a date with you!"

A sudden wail interrupted their argument. "Now look what you've done! She'd only stopped five minutes ago!" Ranma stormed up the stairs.

To the redhead's consternation, Kuno followed her, cool as you please. "If I've done something to offend, please allow me to make up for it," he was saying hurriedly. "We'll go out to a fancy Italian restuarant – the one in Tokyo proper. If you want."

"Just back off, Kuno!" Ranma huffed, opening the door to Nabiki's room and staring at the baby. "I keep looking, but she don't have a dirty diaper, and she don't seem ta wanna eat," Ranma fretted.

Kuno offered her a puzzled look, sweeping the baby out of its crib and expertly bouncing the child up and down as he held her against his chest.

"Hey!" Ranma made an abortive lunge for the child, then paused, wondering why she was so worried.

The baby giggled and burped.

"Well, there you go. She needed to be burped, that's all," Kuno said sagely. He handed the baby off to Ranma, who fumbled for a moment before managing to copy the way she'd seen the kendoist handle the little girl. "Can we go now?"

Ranma pondered this for a moment, playing with the little girl's sparse red hair.

...red... hair...

Ranma examined the baby's features. The small child had bright red hair which curled in short little ringlets around her pale face. Her eyes, an intense blue, sparkled as she laughed. "She wanted to be picked up," Ranma deduced, shaking her head in consternation. That had been the last thing the redhead had wanted to try. She didn't know how to hold a baby, although she recalled it was imporant you support... something. Just now, the little girl... _Sachiko_, Ranma reminded herself... was grinning up at her. Sachiko clapped her hands and bounced as Ranma adjusted her on her hip.

_Gosh_, Ranma thought, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. _She is a pretty little thing. Wonder whose she is._

Kuno certainly seemed to know her, and she him. Sachiko reached her arms out to the kendoist, who swept her up again and swung through the air. The small girl giggled again, a sweet little baby laugh.

"She's beautiful," Ranma said softly, then shook herself. She sounded just like Akane, who fawned over any baby she could find.

"Just like her mother," Kuno replied. "I've always said she looks just like you."

Ranma frowned. "Looks like _me_? I guess, but what does that have to do with it?" She was still staring at Sachiko, who was in the midst of observing the world with relatively new eyes. The tiny redhead reached out and snagged the corner of Kuno's shirt and proceeded to put it in her mouth for a chew toy.

Kuno frowned at Ranma, obviously oblivious of Sachiko's preference for cotton blends. "What does that have to do with what?"

"With her mother?"

Kuno laughed at her.

It hit Ranma like a ton of bricks. "No. No way, man. No effing way!"

"Ranma! What's wrong with you!" Kuno shifted the baby in his grasp. "She's going to start talking any day now! Do you want that to be her first word?"

Ranma began to shake. "That's not my kid!"

"Gee, let's see," Kuno replied blandly. "Red hair, blue eyes, and an already stubborn nature. She's yours, all right."

"No!" Ranma exclaimed. "No, because to have a kid, ya first gotta..."

"I am familiar with the birds and the bees, thank you very much," the young man replied, but his expression was shifting from annoyed to concerned.

"That would mean... you're my...?" Ranma slid down to a seated position. "No! It isn't possible! Where's Akane?!"

"Akane?" Kuno lay the baby back in her cradle, then knelt in front of the redhead. "Ranma, are you all right?"

"You know my name!" Ranma said. "Hey, how do you know my name?"

Kuno blinked. "Er..."

Ranma's brows lowered. "Wait a minute. You know who I am... and you _still_ married me?!"

Tatewaki Kuno froze. "Ranma... Ranma, we're not married."

Ranma slumped. "Oh?"

"No."

"Then..." Ranma forced herself to calm down. "Geez, man, I'm sorry. Look, with all that goes on in my life, I thought I'd traveled to some kinda alternate dimension or somethin'." She took a very deep breath. "Know it sounds weird, but it wouldn't be, for me. So, whose kid is it?"

"Yours," Kuno replied. "Look, ah, my lunch break is just thirty-five minutes long. We can't go far, but maybe we could eat at Ucchan's and, er, speak."

"On you?" Ranma was confused, but nothing diminished the lure of free food.

"Uh, yes," Kuno replied.

"Okay then." She leveled him her best disapproving-Akane glare. "But try anything and you'll regret it."

Kuno eyed Ranma like _she_ was the crazy one. "Uh huh."

Ranma edged out the door behind Kuno.

"Er, Ranma?"

"Mmm?"

"We can't leave the baby here alone."

"Oh! Right." Ranma returned to Nabiki's room and retreived Sachiko. "Right," she repeated.

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Ucchan's was just as Ranma remembered, which did a lot to calm her nerves. Kuno kept tossing her these little bewildered looks which were beginning to drive her crazy.

Ukyo swept out of the kitchen. "House special, ne, Ranchan?" She grinned at the baby. "Hello, sweetness!" she exclaimed.

"This is Sachiko," Ranma said. "Sachiko, this is Ucchan."

Ukyo grinned at the baby. "Oh, we're old friends, aren't we, Sachi-chan?" She looked at Kuno as if to share some kind of joke, but the kendoist shook his head gravely.

"What's the matter?" Ukyo inquired, one hand on her hip. "Sachi, you've been a good girl, haven't you?" she chided.

"Ranma's been having some troubles this morning," Kuno cut in gravely. "She doesn't seem to remember Sachiko at all."

"She doesn't what?!" Ukyo screeched. "Ranma!"

" 'She'?!" Ranma exclaimed. "I'm a boy, damn it! A boy!"

Ukyo froze. "What did you say?"

Kuno was staring at the redhead like she'd sprouted horns.

"Well, I am!"

Ukyo seemed to recover first. "First of all, Ranchan, the term is 'man'. At least, there aren't so many twenty-two year old males who still consider themselves boys..."

"What?" Ranma whispered, clutching at Sachiko, who began to fidget in discomfort.

"Second of all, you're neither a boy nor a man. You're a woman. As evinced by the baby you're holding on your lap." Ukyo's voice was chill.

"No! I'm not twenty-two... I'm sixteen! And I'm a guy, damn it!"

Ukyo slid next to Ranma in the booth, exchanging a long glance with Kuno. "I... see."

"Ucchan, what the hell is going on? One moment I'm banging my head on a rock, the next I wake up and... and everything's different! There's a baby girl in the house, the kitchen's all been re-done, and no-one's around!"

"Are you saying you don't remember anything after that bump on your head back when you were _sixteen_?!" Ukyo exclaimed.

"Kami-sama," Kuno breathed. "No wonder you were upset."

"Tell me what the hell is going on," Ranma said.

"Ranma... what year is it?"

"Are you kidding? It's 1998!"

Kuno gaped.

Ukyo's voice came in, sensible and quiet. "It's 2004, Ranma. Welcome to the new millenium."

Black danced at the edges of Ranma's vision. She made a futile grab for consciousness, and missed.

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Ranma's eyes fluttered open. "Whatta nightmare," she murmured, sitting up and dislodging the cool cloth that had been resting on her forehead. "Mou..."

She gazed about. Akane's room, early evening. The lights were off, and the room was bathed in a pale blue-purple. Damn it, but that had been weird. Sachiko had been kinda cute... okay, so she was the prettiest baby she'd ever seen, but the rest was just plain weird.

Akane entered the room quietly, then turned to see Ranma's open eyes. "Oh! You're awake."

"Yeah. That last kick of Ryoga's really knocked me for a loop, though. You shoulda seen the nightmares."

Akane flinched. "Kick?"

"The kick into the pond," Ranma clarified. "Oh, wait, that's right. It was a punch; an uppercut punch." She stood, stretching her arms over her head. "Guess I musta fallen in the pond, too, 'cause I'm still a girl."

Akane's eyes shimmered with tears. "Oh, Ranma...!"

Ranma softened at the sight of her tomboy fiancee so upset. "We won't fight anymore, Akane, promise. I know it worries ya, and really Ryoga 'n me are too advanced to be fighting one another so serious. Maybe if we talk to him together, we can convince him to go a little easy." Ranma shifted uncomfortably – that would certainly be an awkward conversation, one she wouldn't look forward to. She could see it now: _gee, Ryoga, if you could just go easy on me in our sparring matches from now on, I'd really appreciate it!_ Still, for Akane, she'd do it.

Akane sniffed. "So you're back, huh?"

"Back?"

"Yeah. Ranma Saotome: Man Amongst Men. It's been... what? Six whole years now, hasn't it?"

"Aw, man, not you too! Look, Akane, there's just something wrong with all of you. It ain't been six years, it's been hours! And that kid ain't mine."

"Don't say that about Sachiko!" Akane snapped. "That's your little girl, Ranma, and don't you forget it!"

"_She's not mine!_ Akane, ya gotta believe me! I never saw that little girl before today. All of you are under some kinda spell or something. Maybe a Kodachi potion, but it's probably Cologne. Yeah, Cologne might do something like this. But why?"

Akane flipped on the light switch. "Look, Ranma," she said. "Look."

Ranma stared at her. Of all the people he'd seen, Akane looked by far the most changed. She was holding her long, thick mane of black hair in her hands, she was an inch or two taller, and she had rather obviously become a high-caliber martial artist. Muscles stood out in her arms and lower legs, and she was more slender than he remembered.

"What the hell did you do to yourself?" Ranma blurted.

"Oh. Nice one."

"No, no! I mean... you look good," the redhead managed. "So... uh... it's really been six years, has it?"

She sighed. "Uh huh."

"But what happened in between?"

"That's a harder question to answer." Akane sat down on her bed and patted the seat next to her. When Ranma sat down, she began.

"It's not like it was the time before that," she said.

"The time before what?"

"I mean, when... when _I_ bumped your head," Akane explained, a small blush of embarrassment heating her cheeks even all these years later. "The second time wasn't the same. You didn't think you'd always been a girl. You didn't insist on wearing pink, or shop for bras, or anything like that. You just got... I dunno, all quiet. You wouldn't even insult me." She gave a small, tight laugh. "_None _of us could get a rise out of you. You just kind of sat there for a long while. We took you to the hospital, but they couldn't find any brain damage - just some swelling.

"Ryoga was sure that you'd had a brush with death of some kind, and he felt responsible for the way you were acting. He stuck around, made sure you were comfortable.

"Daddy and Mister Saotome's plan to help you out was to marry us right away, of course," Akane went on, raising a cool eyebrow with a smirk of amusement.

"What?!" Ranma snapped. "I'm, like, catatonic and they're gonna marry us?!"

Akane shrugged. "This is the point where we look back and laugh, Ranma. It didn't work, of course." Her eyes went faraway and lost contact with Ranma's, her mind traveling back to an earlier time. "You seemed to have lost all interest in me." Akane shook herself and gazed at the other girl intently. "In everyone, as a matter of fact."

Ranma shook her head. "But what was wrong?"

"No one knew." Akane took a deep breath, stirring the wisps of hair that had fallen across her features. "Only one person seemed to be able to get a rise out of you."

"Who?"

Akane's lips compressed. "Ryoga. He used your pride against you. One day he asked you what a manly guy like you was doing sitting around the house feeling sorry for himself like a weak little girl. I remember exactly how he put it, because you _laughed_ then, you laughed at what he'd said, when you hadn't so much as formed a complete sentence in three weeks. I think your father nearly died from happiness."

"Why's that funny?"

"Dunno," Akane replied, "but you sure seemed to think it was. You laughed hard, Ranma, and then you told him, 'thank you'. You stood up and got something to eat of your own volition. I... I was so happy!"

Ranma looked at her to see that tears were gathering in her eyes. "Akane..."

She wiped them away hastily. "I was so relieved, Ranma, and more grateful to Ryoga than I can say."

"So I was back to normal."

Akane shook her head. "No. And most of us didn't realize how far from your old self you'd gotten until much later. When your father wanted to spar with you again, you refused. You ate less, you didn't... I don't know." She sighed. "When you were younger, Ranma, there was always a little bit of spark in you. It pulled friends and enemies alike. That spark seemed to have died. There's no other way I have of explaining it. Kasumi once said to me that you reminded her of Daddy just after Momma died."

Ranma didn't know what to say. As she gazed at Akane, it seemed like the Tendo girl was speaking of a nostalgic time in the far distant past, generations ago. Nothing to do with her.

"Anyway," Akane went on, "you couldn't seem to come out of it. You cheered up a little when Ryoga or your mother came to visit. You had become very polite to the rest of us, but polite was all you were, Ranma. You had no interest in us."

Ranma paled. "I'm sorry, Akane."

Akane waved her hand in the air as though swatting away bad memories. "That was ages ago. Since Ryoga was the only one who seemed to have any effect on you, good or bad, your father began pushing the two of you to spend time together." Akane slumped. "Hell, we all did. There was nothing like seeing an emotion come across your face after almost a full year of... nothing.

"You began to act a little differently. Your appetite picked up again, and you started sparring with your father. But there were other differences. You _were_ more feminine... just not the caricature of a teenage girl you'd been the first time around."

"Like how?" Ranma was beginning to see the end to this story, and she didn't like it.

"You were... sensitive to the mood of things. When someone in the house was upset, you were the first to be aware of it, not Kasumi. You started to be more aware of how you looked before you left the house. Come to think of it, you stayed in girl form more often altogether. I once overheard you say..." She blushed.

"What, Akane?"

"When you were eighteen, I heard you say that you wondered what it was like to be pregnant."

Ranma's cheeks heated. "Damn it, Akane."

"I know."

"So why didn't you take me out and shoot me like a sick dog?" Ranma pondered half-seriously.

"You don't understand, Ranma! We might have considered that _before_... but you started acting a little happier around the same time you started behaving in a way that was more feminine. If you'd announced that the only thing that would appease you would be running through the streets naked twice a week, we'd have agreed immediately."

Ranma chuckled despite herself.

Akane shifted a little uncomfortably. "Ranma, I want you to know that I'll always be there for you. I mean it."

Ranma avoided her eyes.

"But you must have guessed what I'm getting at by now. You're married, and you've had a baby with your husband. Do you understand where I'm going?"

Ranma swallowed past the lump in her throat. "I do."

"He's a good man, Ranma," Akane continued, placing a gentle hand on the redhead's shoulder. "As much as I really did want you for myself, what I want now is a little different."

"W-what's that?" Ranma stammered, looking into her eyes.

"Your happiness," Akane replied. "I know you can't remember it, Ranma, but you were happy. You are happy."

"Bullshit," Ranma muttered.

"He's waiting outside," Akane said. "He's waiting for you. Please, Ranma... be kind to him. He's spent the last six years being kind to you. And... he's your husband."

"Kami-sama," Ranma breathed.

"Are you all right?"

"Man, don't let me pass out _again_... twice a day is my limit..."

Akane began to look concerned. "It's okay, Ranma. In and out. I'm here for you, all right? No matter what."

Ranma tried to protest that she didn't need some macho uncute tomboy's help, but she needed all the air she had for hyperventilation.

"Time to face the music, Ranma-chan," Akane announced. "I'll walk you to the door."

Ranma nodded, breaths still coming quick and shallow. "Mou..." she breathed. In her panicked condition, Akane's bedroom door looked like some kind of ancient portal to hell.

Akane opened it.

As Ranma had expected, Ryoga Hibiki was standing on the other side.

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Author's Notes: Don't shoot me. This idea came to be at the borders between sleeping and being awake, and I just had to try it out. Yes, it's finished already. I don't post unless I'm done. I'll be releasing these once a week, every week, barring death or disaster.

Post your reviews here or send questions, comments, death threats and lovings. Even better, visit my website (listed as my homepage on ff-dot-net), livejournal (kirinin-dot-livejournal-dot-com), or forums. **THIS story is now being translated into Italian **by the clever **Franci** on efpfanfic-dot-net. My thanks go out to Franci for her hard work to share this story with others.


	2. I Like You, Too

**Two: I Like You, Too**

* * *

Ranma dodged another sloppy punch. "Ya might actually hit me one of these days, P-chan," Ranma opined, leaping back to avoid Ryoga's follow-up roundhouse kick. "But not today."

Ryoga was beyond furious. He was incensed. "Hold still and DIE!"

Ranma chuckled to himself. "Fat chance, pig-boy. Besides, even if I was standin' still, your fist'd get lost on its way to my face."

Akane stood on the Tendos' back porch, a tired and irritated expression adorning her features. "Ranma, stop encouraging him!" She turned to face the Lost Boy. "Ryoga, don't let him make you lose your temper!"

"I'll take care of this, Akane," Ryoga sneered.

"I'm getting _tired_ of this," the youngest Tendo intoned ominously, slouching to seat herself on the wooden slats of the back porch, her shapely bare legs dangling off the edge.

Nabiki stood in the doorway to the house, fanning herself with her hand. "Really? Will wonders never cease!"

Akane glared daggers at her elder sister, but bit her tongue. She watched the two boys fight, a gathering storm of anger visible on her face. "I mean it," she added quietly. "If you two won't stop fighting, I'll..."

Nabiki's ears perked up. "What will you do, Akane?"

"Are you two listening to me!" Akane demanded, springing to her feet. "Or are you too full of testosterone to listen?"

Ranma smirked as he blocked Ryoga's uppercut. "No, that's you, Akane."

The youngest Tendo bristled, going stiff. "If you feel that way, then I'm sure you'll like what I have to say. If you two won't stop going at it in my backyard like a pair of dogs, then I'll... Ranma, I'll tell my father that the engagement's off and I don't want you here anymore." She paused, to allow this to sink in. "Ever. Again."

Ranma froze. "Wait. What!"

Ryoga's follow-up move, a right hand uppercut, caught Ranma right under the ribs, and he went flying.

_Holy kami-sama!_ Ryoga thought. _I hit him! I actually hit him; all thanks to Akane's distraction! Dear Akane, how I owe you..._ Ryoga realized at the last second that Ranma was headed for the koi pond. _Serves that jerk right. Instant girl – just add water!_

Ryoga's grin of triumph began to dissolve as he re-examined Ranma's flight path. _Wait a minute..._

Ranma wasn't simply tipping backwards; his trajectory meant he was falling through the air upside-down, his head angling for the rocks that surrounded the calm water of the Tendo koi pond.

Ryoga could hear shouting from far away. Someone was calling Ranma's name, but it sure was taking them a long time to get through the two syllables. Ranma seemed to be falling through the air in slow motion.

_I've killed him_. The thought ran through Ryoga's mind like water at first, falling away without taking hold. Something (Akane's voice?) threw him into action, and he started toward the falling martial artist. _I can do it. I can pull him back._

You're too far away!

_No! I can pull him back. I can do it. Like a chi attack. Focus!_ Ryoga found himself pulling on his depression chi, picturing Akane's tear-streaked face if something did truly happen to Ranma.

_"Ryoga, how could you stoop so low? I'll never speak to you again!"_

There it was! Ryoga used the energy to _pull_, and –

At the last second, Ranma remembered to scream. He tried to turn his head away, managed to look at Ryoga and lock gazes with him.

_Shi shi hokodan_, Ryoga thought. He clenched his outstretched arm.

To his surprise, he could feel Ranma's hand in his! _It's working!_

Ryoga jerked his arm back, and –

Ryoga winced as Ranma's head hit the rocks.

_What?_

* * *

Akane was crying, and furious. Ryoga had seen her crying before, and furious before, but never both. "If he's hurt I'll never speak to you again," she snapped when Ryoga tried to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Nice one, Hibiki," Nabiki commented as Akane stormed out of the room. "So what was it this time? Business as usual, or something more serious?"

Ryoga shook his head. "Bad luck I guess," he replied, flexing his hand. He was still puzzled. He'd been certain that Ranma's fingers had caught onto his own for a moment; and yet, judging by the distance, that was impossible. "At least I tried."

"It was a valiant effort, Ryoga-kun," Kasumi admitted from her position at Ranma's head. She shifted the cool cloth that she'd placed on the younger girl's brow.

"And why did you make such an effort, hmm?" Nabiki wanted to know. "Aren't you the one who's always shouting, 'Ranma, prepare to die!'?"

Ryoga frowned, puzzled. He didn't really understand this himself. He'd felt something strange as Ranma headed for the rocks: a tightness in his chest and a nervousness in his stomach.

"Be nice, Nabiki," Kasumi admonished. "Perhaps Ryoga-kun is still smarting from the koi-rod episode."

Nabiki nodded wisely while Ryoga fumed. "Won't anyone ever let up about that?" he demanded. "It was a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding!"

"Whatever you say, Hibiki-chan, whatever you say."

Ryoga sighed, the tension leaving his body. It was pretty much useless to argue with Nabiki. He decided to offer them a rationale that he, and they, could understand: "Akane would hate me if I'd really hurt him." That in and of itself was hard to admit, though. Why Akane continued to worship the ground Ranma walked on when all the pigtailed martial artist gave her in return was insults – that was beyond the Lost Boy.

Ranma moaned and turned on her side.

"Well, Ranma is over the worst," Kasumi announced. "Your friend is asleep now rather than unconscious. Why don't you go and talk to Akane, Ryoga?"

Ryoga heaved a sigh and stood, moving from Akane's bedroom in search of the youngest Tendo. He searched all throughout the house and had almost given up when he heard the sound of sobbing.

Slowly, Ryoga peered around the furo door, but saw no steam. Akane wasn't taking a bath.

She was in the bathtub, though. Akane was hunched in the furo, holding her knees tightly to her body and sobbing into her folded arms. Ryoga considered leaving her to cry herself out. From experience as P-chan, he knew that she felt a lot better after she'd had a cry – something that, as a guy, he hadn't really experienced first-hand. Although, come to think of it, he really felt a lot better after fighting Ranma. Maybe the principle was the same.

Then she uttered a particularly pathetic keen and he found himself beside her without a clear idea of how he'd gotten there. "A-Akane?" he managed.

Akane's face jerked up to his. "Ryoga!" Surprise gave way to pain. "I'm sorry I yelled..."

"No, no, please don't cry over _that_, Akane-san!" he pleaded, wanting nothing more than to have her in his arms; but he knew that his privileges as her friend didn't quite extend that far.

"I just... if something were to happen to Ranma... I don't know what I'd do!"

Ryoga's heart sank as he perched on the edge of the tub. "O-oh. Uh... I'm s-sorry, Akane. I- I know it worries you; and Ranma and I are too advanced to be fighting one another so seriously. Maybe if we talk to him together, we can convince him to go a little easy." Ryoga shifted uncomfortably on the hard porcelain of the tub – that would certainly be an awkward conversation, one he wouldn't look forward to. He could see it now: _gee, Ranma, if you could just go easy on me in our sparring matches from now on, I'd really appreciate it!_ Still, for Akane, he'd do it.

Akane's tear-stained face rose again, and her eyes met his. "Really, Ryoga? You'd do that?" She threw her arms around him. "Thank you so much! Oh... I don't know what I'd do if Ranma was really hurt... because... because..."

Ryoga closed his eyes tightly against the inevitable, doing his best to focus on the feel of Akane's arms around him.

"...because I think I love him."

The Lost Boy's eyes clenched closed more tightly yet. _Don't cry. Don't cry in front of her!_ "Y-you d-do?"

Akane drew back. "I'm sorry, Ryoga."

_She knows! Even better..._ Ryoga wanted to go someplace to die.

"B-but if... I mean, Ranma might mind, but I don't... if you want to stick around..." She offered him a shy smile. "I'd miss you if you went away. You know that, right?" She wiped away her tears and gave him a wry chuckle. "Who else would I cry to? I can't cry in front of anybody else but you."

Ryoga found himself holding her again, tightly, pressing her to him. "I won't leave you, Akane."

Akane drew back with her best sunny smile, although the tears on her cheeks did a lot to dampen that shine. "Thanks so much, Ryoga. You're the best, you know that?"

He smiled tightly. "Yes, I know. I'm the best." _Second-best, anyway._

"I'm going to go check on that idiot, see if he's still got all his brain cells. You remember what happened last time he got hit on the head, don't you?"

Ryoga frowned. "No. What happened last time?1"

Akane's eyes widened. "Geez. You never heard this story? Well, I guess it's no wonder; I doubt Ranma's all that eager to tell it."

_Never mind the fact that we don't really tell one another _storiesRyoga thought to himself with a hint of good humor.

"On second thought, it _is_ embarrassing," Akane admitted, "and Ranma made me swear not to tell. But I would have guessed that Nabiki sold that secret a long time ago."

"Embarrassing? I'll have to ask him about it later."

Akane giggled, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. "C'mon, silly. Let's go see how he is."

Ryoga followed Akane out of the furo, steadfastly telling himself not to scream or cry. Kasumi met them at Akane's bedroom door. "I'd suggest letting the poor dear sleep a little while longer," Kasumi suggested mildly. "He'll wake up when he's ready, and meanwhile, we shouldn't disturb him."

"Did you call Tofu-sensei?" Akane inquired.

Kasumi smiled sweetly. "Not this time, dear. With all the bumps and bruises around here, I'm hardly inexpert!" She frowned briefly. "Besides which, I haven't seen him around Nerima lately."

"Me neither," Akane admitted, a puzzled frown on her face as she and her sister descended into the kitchen.

Ryoga waited until the two girls were at the base of the stairs before slipping quietly into Akane's room.

Ranma was snoring loudly, curled into a tight ball. She'd managed to gather all the blankets around her small frame tightly. Ryoga blinked. Ranma always slept sprawled out like a cat basking in the sun. He should know; he'd tried to attack Ranma in his sleep often enough.

"Ranma," he whispered. "Ranma!"

The redhead stirred and muttered his name, but didn't wake.

"You'd better not blame me for this! It's your fault for getting distracted. And I tried to stop..." Ryoga grimaced. "This time I really did, so you'd better not go telling Akane that I'm a bully or anything!"

Ranma murmured unintelligably, then blinked in surprise and sat up. "Ugh... I feel awful. Did it work?"

"Whew!" Ryoga exclaimed. "I thought I'd really gotten you that time."

The redhead sighed with a hand pressed to her chest. "Thank goodness." She reached out for him.

Ryoga frowned, but approached. "You don't need help up, do you? I didn't do _that_ much damage, did I?" _Akane'll be furious_.

Ranma's arms slipped up behind his head and she pressed her lips to his.

Ryoga froze. _What is he doing!_ Of course, it was very obvious what Ranma was doing, and doing well. The Lost Boy began to struggle, attempt to push her away, but Ranma was strong, even in her girl form.

And the worst of it was that part of Ryoga's brain and definitely all of his hormones were informing him in no uncertain terms that a girl's lips were maneuvering against his, and that a pair of beautiful breasts were pressed against his chest, and... and her hips were... were touching...

When Ryoga came to himself, he had his arms around Ranma Saotome and was kissing her back. When he surfaced for air, he stared into her face, thinking how beautiful...

..._wait_...

...and loving and man was she good at that...

..._stop!_...

...and... and was that Ranma!

..._that's Ranma kissing you like that..._

"Ranma!" His voice came out softer and huskier than he'd thought, and the sound of it brought him to an almost instant panic.

She stared at him, still so close that their noses were almost touching, her blue eyes wide and surprised. "Ryoga...? Ryoga, what's wrong?"

Ryoga managed to pull himself from her arms and back up slightly. He backed his way out of Akane's bedroom door, out of the Tendos' front door, and out their gate and into the town of Nerima without letting his brain go much farther than blank.

Then, _Ranma. Ranma! RANMA! I kissed Ranma!_

_No... Ranma kissed me. Why would Ranma kiss me!_

_He's not right in the head. Wow, he's gonna be pissed off when he comes to._ Ryoga winced, unable to keep from recalling how well Ranma had dealt with rejection during the koi rod episode. _He'll be beyond furious._

_Him! What about me? That was my first real kiss! And it was with Ranma! Maan..._

Ryoga stopped under a convenient awning and slipped to the ground, his shoes crunching against half-crumbled asphalt. He was _attempting_ to grasp at being furious, but couldn't seem to manage it. He was still so surprised that the world around him seemed blurry, half-formed.

So it was that he was quite surprised when Nabiki, panting, slid to sit next to him. "I'll trade anything I've got for why Ranma kissed you," she said abruptly.

Ryoga blinked at her. "Huh?"

"You heard me."

"Why don't you ask Ranma?" Ryoga replied, burying his face in his arms in a very similiar position to the one in which he'd found Akane. "I'm dead right now. Call back once I've revived."

"You'll see why not later on," Nabiki replied mysteriously. "Now spill."

"I told you, I'm dead. I feel like I'm about to implode."

"If you don't tell me, I'll tell Akane about her little piggie," Nabiki threatened.

"Huh?" Ryoga wondered.

"P-chan!" Nabiki snapped. "I'll tell her about P-chan!"

"Huh?"

"Oh..." Nabiki sighed, all of her nervous energy seeming to leave her with that breath. "I guess I'll talk to you once you've regained your sanity." She paused, considering. "You hungry?"

Ryoga frowned at her, puzzled, as though she'd asked him the $1,000 question.

"Oh, just _come on_," Nabiki demanded, dragging Ryoga into Ukyo's okonomiyaki shop.

Because that's where they were, of course.

* * *

It took three okonomiyaki before Ryoga was able to speak, and speak coherently. "Weird. It was weird," he replied finally.

"Weird. Thank you for your expert interpretation. I _know_ it was weird; I _assume_ it was weird. Give me more."

"No," Ryoga countered, gesturing with his chopstick, "weird in other ways. He said..." Ryoga blushed. "I'll get through a sentence better if I say 'she'." The Lost Boy cleared his throat. "She asked me if it'd worked when she woke up."

"Worked?"

"Yeah, and then... then was all surprised at my... my reaction, after."

"Did she know who you were?"

Ryoga nodded. "She called me Ryoga... twice."

"That makes no sense."

Ryoga declined to reply. Instead, he stuffed his mouth with okonomiyaki.

"You can't give me anything more than that?"

"Didn't sleep right," Ryoga added after a moment's pause. "Was all curled up in a ball."

Nabiki took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "I won't even take that bait. I assume you know how Ranma sleeps because you've attempted to attack him or something equally inane?"

"And I'll assume you know because you were taking pictures of Ranma while he was asleep," Ryoga mumbled, "instead of betraying your little sister."

Nabiki's eyes flashed. "Then we understand one another. You should know that I'd never do that to Akane. She loves that idiot, though only kami-sama knows why."

"She loves her privacy, too, I'd think," Ryoga countered, feeling reckless, "but you sell pictures of her to those perverts that Furinkan calls students."

"Which you yourself have taken advantage of more than once!" Nabiki snapped. "Why are you trying my patience?"

Ryoga paused with his mouth open to retort. "I don't know," he finally replied, quieting. "Maybe because I'm feeling more suicidal than usual."

Nabiki seemed to absorb his calm. "I see. So what do you want in return for this information?"

Ryoga rubbed his closed lids with his thumb and middle finger, meditatively. "Uh, let me think about that. My brain is... on fire."

"I see." The middle Tendo's lips quirked. "Then I'll see you later?" She grinned. "Don't stay away too long, or Akane will start to get ideas about your integrity."

Ryoga flinched; then his eyes widened. "Wait. I've got it! In return, you... you can't sell anything I told you or anything you saw about this incident."

Nabiki growled. "Now just wait one moment–"

"You said 'anything'," Ryoga countered just as harshly.

The older girl winced. "I did, didn't I? But just because I can't sell the information, don't expect me not to profit from it."

"Of course," Ryoga replied, blindingly grateful that he'd managed to dig himself at least halfway out of the pit he saw yawning beneath him.

Nabiki rose and offered out her hand, her slender arm rigid and unyielding.

Briefly Ryoga saw the hand of another girl reaching for him...

Closing his eyes tightly, he shook Nabiki's hand and exited the shop.

"Nice doing business with you," Nabiki called after him.

He didn't reply.

Ukyo slid into his seat.

"So, you heard that, huh?" Nabiki inquired of the okonomiyaki chef.

"Every word," she replied.

Nabiki considered. "Can I buy the information from you?"

Ukyo winked. "Don't think so, sugar. Play by your own rules." She paused. "So, this is Ranchan's latest flirtation with womanhood?"

"Where have I heard that before? What is this – his sixth?"

"Seventh, depending who's counting,2" Ukyo replied gamely, sipping on Ryoga's half-finished soda. "Poor Ryoga seems to have gotten the worst of it again."

"He usually does when Ranma takes it into his head to play this old game," Nabiki tacked on. "It's my personal, Freudian opinion that little Ranma represses his feminine side so badly that it _has_ to break out every now and again. Having a girl body just makes it that much easier."

Ukyo made an understanding noise.

"And furthermore, that Ryoga is the masculine equivilant of my little sister: they're both strong, stubborn, and relatively blind when it comes to certain facts they'd rather not admit to."

"And both very sweet when they wanna be."

"What?"

"And both very sweet when they want to be," Ukyo replied, slurping slightly as she finished the Lost Boy's abandoned cola. "I know that little sisters can be annoying, but you have to admit that Akane can turn on the charm."

Nabiki shrugged and nodded begrudgingly. "Okay, given. Anyway, it's natural that when Ranma goes on these feminine binges, he attaches to Ryoga instead of Akane."

"Your logic is flawed in one way."

"What's that?"

"You're assuming Ranchan likes Akane better than me... or Shamps."

"Shamps?"

"It's insulting to call the girl a hair-care product," Ukyo defended. "I mean, her name's Chinese, and I don't even know what it is: Shan Pu, Xian Pu, Xiam Pu or what. So..."

"Ah."

"So anyway, your thinking is flawed."

"I don't think so. I know Ranma likes Akane best, and you'd know it too if your entire feminine existence didn't hinge on it."

"My 'feminine existence'?" Ukyo inquired dryly. She was dry, come to think of it, and got another soda.

"You know what I mean. Ranma leaving you meant that you weren't girlish enough. Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. When you got here, you acted so boyish you even had _me_ fooled. Akane sort of guessed, but – you know, she has more experience with cross-dressers."

Ukyo snorted, but she couldn't help but grin. Thinking about her Ranchan as a cross-dresser was more than a little amusing.

"So now, if you wanna be a girl again, you feel like you've got to get Ranma to like you."

"Thanks, Sigmund," Ukyo replied.

"It's no psychoanalysis because it's no secret," Nabiki countered. "You practically said it outright when you first came to Nerima."

"So?"

"So you might be able to accept Ranma as a friend if someone else could convince you that you were a girl," Nabiki tacked on, as if her conclusion were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Does that even make sense?"

Nabiki's chin lifted. "Don't scorn free advice from a Tendo," she snapped.

* * *

Kasumi was tenderly and carefully examining Ranma's skull. "There's definitely no fracture... just a little bit of swelling. It's a bump is all, Ranma."

Ranma nodded. "Oooh! Owww..."

"Don't _do_ that, if it hurts," Akane advised.

"Gee, thanks," Ranma whispered. "This must be the worst headache in the history of the world," she tacked on just as softly.

"Akane, dear, would you fetch Ranma some painkillers?"

Akane slipped out the door and made for the furo's medicine cabinet.

"Where's Ryoga?" Ranma asked Kasumi in that same, quiet voice. "I did something stupid. He didn't run off, did he?"

"Something stupid?" Kasumi quoted, puzzled. "I saw him run out the door earlier. He did appear to be very preoccupied. Did you two have a serious argument?"

Ranma shook her head, then winced again. "I didn't do something all that outrageous... uh, by some people's way of thinking. Still, he was _real_ upset."

"Should I look for him?" Kasumi wanted to know.

"Oh!" Ranma exclaimed, then paused, pressing a hand to her head again. "Oh, no, Kasumi," she whispered again. "You've got enough to deal with, right? Uh... maybe... maybe Akane will help me find him?"

"Perhaps," Kasumi filled in, wondering why the redhead's tone was so questioning.

"If she isn't... uh, too busy...?" Ranma tacked on, noting Kasumi's confusion.

"Busy? Akane? Why, no, Ranma, I don't think she is."

Ranma nodded, a look of intense concentration on her face.

"Ranma, dear, is something wrong? Other than the headache, I mean," Kasumi wanted to know.

"Wrong? Uh..." Ranma's eyes fell to her lap. "Nothing that can... I mean..." The redhead's eyes shut tightly, but tears began to leak through.

"Ranma!" Kasumi exclaimed, drawing the redhead into her arms.

Ranma gently but firmly extricated herself from the eldest Tendo's embrace, wiping her streaming eyes roughly. "It's nothing that can be helped, so it's nothing to cry over. Besides, I don't want you to worry about me. I _really_ don't."

Before Kasumi could open her mouth to counter Ranma's well-meaning but misplaced concerns, Akane returned with the aspirin and some cold water.

"Here you go, Ranma," Akane said cheerfully, placing the pills in Ranma's hand. "Are you okay?" she inquired, noting the redhead's shiny eyes.

"It just... it _really_ hurts," Ranma replied. "Do you guys mind, uh, leaving, and turning off the lights? The lights are hurting me."

"Of course not, Ranma!" Akane was quick to reply. "Come on Kasumi, let's let him rest a little, okay?"

Kasumi nodded, backing away from the room, wondering what kind of pain the redhead was really going through.

Some of the pain in Ranma's head eased immediately after the lights were dimmed, and she breathed a sigh of real relief; but once she felt that relief, everything else rushed in. Her body became so tight that she began to coil into herself until she was in the position Ryoga had first found her. She screamed into her blanket, took a couple of jagged breaths and started to cry. Then she screamed again.

Then for a long time, she was quiet. Her head throbbed. Her stomach roiled. She felt like she had the mother of all hangovers.

Nabiki poked her head in.

Ranma managed to hide her eyes half under the blanket, allowing that blanket to absorb some of the moisture. The dark was her friend. "Hi, Nabiki," she said hoarsely.

"So, you kissed Ryoga," Nabiki replied.

Ranma knew Nabiki couldn't see her lips, but the crinkle in her eyes showed her smile. "Guess I did. Threw you for a loop, right?"

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "So what is it this time? What's your new version of events?"

"My new what-now?"

"Okay. Let me rephrase. What is your name? What is your quest? What is your favorite color?"

Ranma stared at her, blinking rapidly. "Saotome Ranma; to be happy; red! Monty Python – King Arthur and the Quest for the Holy Grail."

Nabiki frowned. "Uh... yeah, that's right. But isn't that middle one wrong?"

Ranma sighed. "Fine, fine. Saotome Ranma; to be the greatest martial artist in all the world; red! But the other is more important."

"Do you mind answering what gender you are?"

The redheaded girl underneath the covers squirmed. "Tough one, Nabiki. Let's say that physiologically I'm female right now. Normally I'm a guy. Are we done?"

"Not by half. Why did you kiss Ryoga-kun?"

Ranma shook her head. "Nothing doing, Nabiki. Sorry."

"Come on, Ranma, it's a simple question." Nabiki's eager expression shifted to something a lot like worry. "If you say to me that you were just confused after being bumped on the head, I'll believe you."

Ranma smiled a little bitterly. "I can't tell you that."

"But you've already told me everything!" Nabiki said with a grin.

"Blah, blah, never argue with a Sicilian when death is on the line," Ranma tacked on. "Princess Bride."

Nabiki blinked. "Damn it, Ranma."

Ranma smiled, a real smile for the first time. "Heh!" She shrugged. "Sorry I can't satisfy your curiosity, though. Maybe some other time."

"I'll tell Akane all about this," Nabiki warned, without much heat.

"Oh, you wouldn't do that," Ranma disagreed dismissively. "I know you won't. So, did you talk to Ryoga? Is he all right? Angry?"

"Angry? No... uh, still in shock, I think," Nabiki replied in amazement. Since when was Ranma so good at reading people? Normally, the volatile redhead would be begging Nabiki not to say a word or attempting to bluff by saying that she didn't care what an uncute tomboy thought.

"That's good, I guess." Ranma curled up again. "What the hell was I thinking?" she demanded of her pillow.

"Yeah, well, I can't really tell _you_ that," Nabiki commented.

"You're so supportive."

Nabiki shrugged. "I do my best." She examined the redhead's dissheveled state. "If there's anything I can do... until you come back to being Ranma... let me know."

Ranma blinked. "Er..."

"Yes, more like that," Nabiki advised with a wink. "You know; brash, unsophisticated, stupid..."

"Nabiki!"

"...charming, naive, and good at martial arts." She examined Ranma minutely. "You _can_ do martial arts, can't you?"

"Of course I can! What are you asking me that for?"

Nabiki tilted her head to one side, considering. "The last time you hit your head, you said that you couldn't."

"No, I said that I didn't _want to_," Ranma countered. She frowned. "You asked me that just to see if I remembered, didn't you?"

Nabiki shrugged. "Caught me."

"Anyway, this isn't like last time," the redhead mumbled. "If only. D'you mind? I really hurt and I want to try and get some sleep."

Nabiki nodded. "Oh, well."

"Do you mind if I ask what you're getting out of this?"

The middle Tendo daughter flashed her sharklike grin. "I don't know, Ranma. I kind of like you, this time around." She moved to Akane's bedroom door and started to slip out.

"Uh, Nabiki?"

Nabiki turned. "Huh?"

"I... thanks." The redhead smiled tiredly. "And I like you, too."

* * *

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well. This sure is interesting. I found out that I'd written a whole 'nother continuity for this story, diverging at the head bonk. I'd totally forgotten about it! I've decided to blend them; I think that each has what the other lacks.

* * *

1 Okay, for those clueless, here goes: Akane knocks Ranma into the rocks by the koi pond. When Ranma awakens, he thinks he's a girl; not just any girl, but what is probably Ranma's _idea_ of a real girl. In other words, he refuses to practice martial arts because it's too violent, and likes to cook and arrange flowers in his spare time. Cooincidentally, this 'girl' also is constantly verbally abusing Akane for not being womanly enough. Whoooo boy. The entire incident culminates when Akane, thinking it best to 'force' Ranma into acting like a boy, takes boy-Ranma on a shopping expedition. The result is that Ranma acts like a flamingly gay man, embarrassing Akane in several devilishly humorous ways. If I didn't know that Ranma isn't smart enough for this, I'd assume that he was playing a trick on Akane for being too violent.

2 _I'm _sure not. At least, that sounds about right, but I'm not sure it's been seven times. I just liked the way that read.


	3. He Loves You Steady

Note: As you'll see, the time skipping is going to become confusing. So, each chapter title is going to look like this from now on, just to avoid all of that:

------

CHAPTER THREE: 2004

Ranma had never seen Ryoga look so forlorn. Not even when Akane had screamed that she hated him to help him learn the Perfect Shi Shi Hokodan, not during the koi rod incident, not when he thought he'd lost Akane to Shinnosuke.

"Say you don't hate me," he said.

Ranma blinked.

"Ryoga, don't push her," Akane warned.

"_Him_," Ranma corrected.

"See?" Akane shrugged helplessly. "_Please_ try to get along," she admonished, pushing past them down the stairs.

Ryoga stared after her, confused. "But we always get along!"

Akane turned, pinned him with her eyes, before sweeping down the stairs. A moment later, Ranma heard the front door close.

"Oh. Heh." Ryoga put his hand to the back of his neck and looked embarrassed. "Right."

Ranma's eyebrows raised. It was strange... no, eerie... to see Ryoga treat her like he'd always treated Akane in the past. "So you switched from Akane ta me pretty quick, huh?"

Ryoga stared at her blankly for a moment. "Akane? Oh. Uh, not really. There were two years in between."

"Two years," Ranma repeated. "So we got married young." She paused again. "Eighteen."

"Do you wanna... uh, do you wanna step away from the door?" Ryoga inquired gently.

Ranma realized that she was standing in the shelter of Akane's bedroom doorway, one hand on Akane's inside wall, the other resting on the frame. She moved her hands rapidly to cross over her chest. "I can't do this. I mean – I don't understand." She retreated into Akane's room. "I mean... I mean, what did _Pops_ say?! And Mister Tendo? And... and everybody. How could they let this happen?!" She whirled on him, seeing he'd followed her inside. "How could _you_ let this happen?! You know what I am! I'm... I'm a... I'm _not_ a wife!"

"Whoa, Ranma, whoa..." Ryoga soothed, his hands raised in a placating manner.

"Don't you 'whoa' me, P-chan! I'm a guy, a boy, a one-hundred-percent paragon of masculinity! I'm not some air-headed, fluff-brained, klutz of a weak little girl! I'm a man, and you're _not_ my husband."

Ryoga's jaw ticked as she ran herself down, but when she reached her conclusion, he obviously couldn't hold himself back any longer. "Ranma, please don't say that..."

"Don't say that you're not my husband?! You're NOT! That's not my daughter. I can't have a baby, I'm a guy!"

"Ranma –"

Ranma began to pace to let off some of her nervous energy.

Ryoga's brows lowered in sympathy, and he moved towards her.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted, flinching away from him.

"I... I won't hurt you," he managed tenatively, taking a step back to allow the pacing redhead some room.

"Hurt me?! Ha! That's a laugh. You can't hurt me. You never could. You were never as good as me, not half as good. I'd never have married you even if I did think I was some kind of airy-fairy princess..."

Ryoga flinched slightly, before his features hardened into frustration. "I'll leave you alone."

But now that Ranma sensed she'd drawn blood, she couldn't seem to stop. "You do that. Rethink this whole 'married' thing. Because it's not like I'd have ever _thought _of touching a pig like you anyway!"

Ryoga backed out of Akane's room and softly closed the door behind him.

Ranma stared at the cool yellow painted across its surface and hurled a pillow at the closed door with all of her strength and screamed at the top of her lungs.

The scream stopped her short. She became aware of her breath, that she was panting, that her hands were shaking. Her heart was pounding in her chest so hard and so loud that Ryoga could probably hear it.

"The pig deserves it," she murmured to herself, sliding down against the closed bedroom door. "He... damn it, he took advantage of me after I'd been knocked on the head – BY HIM! Who does he think he is, coming in here and expecting me to just accept that?

"And who does _Akane_ think she is, anyway? Telling me to be nice to him? She always did think that the sun rose and set on that idiot. 'Oh, he's such a gentleman, Ranma!' – when he was sleeping in her bed every night! Kawaiikune idiot, she's always been an idiot, that's nothing new. Why didn't anyone stop this? Why didn't Pops tie me down and carry me off to China? Why didn't he just shoot me?"

Ranma drew her knees close to her body and buried her head in her hands. _It's a joke. It's gotta be a joke or something. _

But she knew it wasn't. The new house, the small child... not to mention the simple fact that Ryoga would never go along with a joke like this, or even be capable of acting that was this high-caliber. She'd seen her insults strike him physically, like he really cared what she said. Well, strike him physically more than usual, anyway. The poor sap never took insults well.

There was a small tap at the door. "Ranma?"

Ranma didn't reply. She merely buried her face more deeply into her arms.

"C'mon, honey, open up."

_Honey?!_ That wasn't going to get him anywhere!

Ranma found the window with her eyes. She didn't need to stay here – didn't need to be here. She could go.

The redhead moved towards the window and jumped down, her soft shoes slipping against the pavement. She gazed up at the clear, cold night sky and marveled that things could be just the same outside when everything inside of her was churning up dust. She caught sight of Akane down the road and hunkered down instinctively behind some trash cans, waiting until the youngest Tendo was out of sight.

Ranma picked a direction and ran. It almost didn't matter where she headed, so long as she was away from _him_. She took to the air, night wind under her feet, Nerima's lights beneath and around her. She moved so fast her lungs beat harder than her heart. She ran so fast it was like she was outrunning the truth. For a couple of minutes, anyway, she could imagine it was any other night, that she was simply outside to get away from pressing fiancee matters, that she was running out to do a favor for Kasumi, that she was catching Happousai – anything – and then nothing, as the exhaustion became all she was.

Ranma finally stopped, slid to her knees and gazed around her.

It wasn't much of a surprise that she'd looped around, even to her. Ukyo's shop now had a neon sign that lit up the night, and a broad welcome mat that Ranma hadn't noticed at first while coming with Kuno. The porchlight up out in front of the okonomiyaki-ya looked like some kind of saving grace. The redhead stumbled towards it, half-articulated thoughts sifting through her panic – Ukyo would take her in. Ukyo loved her, always had – Ranma knew it, loved her more like a boyfriend-girlfriend love than the love between two friends. Even in six years – even in sixty – Ukyo would never stop liking her like that. Ukyo would let her in, let her stay.

It reminded Ranma of some old European fairy tale, she couldn't place which, standing outside in the dark like that, waiting to see if Ukyo had forgotten her love in the space of so many years. If she leapt up and knocked on Ukyo's window – tapped – wouldn't Ukyo come?

For a moment, Ranma paused, a dark surmise taking hold of her, a strange premonition. If she didn't? Maybe it was better to move on without asking.

But the dark feeling lifted from Ranma's soul quickly. No, Ukyo would let her in and keep her so long as she wanted. And if Ukyo got tired of that, they could go on the road, keep one another company.

Ranma found herself practicing the words in her mind as she landed on the roof of the _Ucchan's_. _Ukyo,_ she'd say with a grin, _I'm about to make a dream come true for you. I wanna live here, with you. I know what you'll say, but I don't care a fig for Ryoga and don't understand how anybody could. He's a jerk, you know? I'm here to be with you, for as long as you like._

Ranma leaned over and tapped on the window, just hard enough to wake her.

Ukyo's bleary face appeared, shoving the curtains aside. She hefted the window open and leaned against the sill. "Ramma?" she slurred, pulling her bangs away from her face.

Ranma offered her the best grin in her arsenal. She only wished she also had some hot water. "Ukyo..."

Ukyo appeared to note the importance of this meeting in a relatively sudden way. "Ranma? What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night."

"Ukyo, I'm about to make a dream come true for you."

Instead of smiling in that winning way she had, Ukyo frowned suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"

This wasn't going according to script. "I wanna live here with you. Or we could just go, you and me, and never stop moving."

"But Ranma–"

"I know what you're gonna say. But I don't care about Ryoga. I just want to be with you."

Ukyo's grey eyes were no longer sleepy. "Peter Pan," she whispered.

"That's it," Ranma said. "I was trying to think of it before." The redhead peered at Ukyo's eyes. They were all wrong. Instead of blissful and happy, they were... they were wistful, and sad, and clear and knowing, and, and _wise._ "Ukyo," she murmured, suddenly aware that something was slipping away from her – no, falling, faster and faster.

"I can't come away with you," Ukyo said. "I'm older than you, now, you know. And I have a life here, Ranma."

"And it doesn't include me," Ranma finished bitterly.

"It does," Ukyo protested. "You're my best friend."

Ranma wanted to cry, and it was a lot easier in this form, but she managed to hold herself quietly back. "You don't care," she accused roughly. "You don't care I'm stuck there."

Ukyo's grey eyes softened and she finally smiled. "I care, love," she whispered. "But not the way you might imagine. I suppose you'll think of throwing yourself off a cliff, next, or skipping town altogether – all on your own, off into the sunset," she added casually.

The very way she put it made it all seem impossible. "You don't get it," Ranma replied. "I don't understand what you an' Akane are missing, but you're missing it. How wrong this is."

Ukyo's bare shoulders glimmered in the moonlight as she turned, tilted her head in consideration. A twinkle in the dark-haired girl's eye caught Ranma's. "Guess I am," she replied. "Something fundamental I'm missing about what's so terrible about it."

"You're laughing at me."

Ukyo's smile twinkled brightly in the midnight. "Just a little," she admitted, squeezing the air between her thumb and forefinger. Gazing into Ranma's eyes, her own softened. "Oh, Ranma. Don't look like that. You have someone who loves you. That's more precious than... better than anything. Ryoga's love is steady, too. It's not like Akane's. Not like mine," she admitted.

Ranma frowned. "What does 'steady' mean?"

"It means he knows the darkest part of you and loves you the same," Ukyo replied readily.

The redhead thought about this a moment. "It doesn't matter. He's still a guy."

"You love him, Ranma, the same."

"I don't."

"You do, and you'll remember, after awhile."

Ranma eyed her curiously. In the night, half hanging out the window in the moonlight, she'd turned into some kind of seer, dark-eyed and wise. "How do you know?"

"Because Ranma Saotome always wins," she replied after a moment. "You'll get over this amnesia nonsense and you'll remember how in love with him you were. Even if my heart were to turn around this very instant and I'd go with you, in a couple of weeks, a month, a year, you'd turn on me. You'd hate me for taking advantage of you this way."

"Ukyo, I... I wouldn't. I don't..." Ranma grappled for a way to explain what he didn't require of Ukyo. "I don't need anything from you... I just want a place to stay."

"No, Ranma."

"Can I at least come in?"

"Go home, Ranma." She slammed her bedroom window shut.

Ranma perched precariously on the inch or two of windowsill remaining for a moment before leaping down and pausing to consider her next course of action, feeling lost and cold and as though the world had no welcome left for her. She hadn't realized just how rooted she'd become in Nerima, and the thought of moving pained her.

"Ranma."

Ranma turned to find Ryoga standing under the light of Ukyo's okonomiyaki-ya. The bright illuminated his hurt and strained expression.

She made her way to him, stopping several paces before him. For a moment, they looked at one another silently, as if communicating without words. Ryoga stood there, looking hurt, betrayed and more lost than ever; Ranma watched him warily, but the hurt and loss was in her, too.

After a moment, Ryoga stepped slightly closer to her. "Ranma..."

"Ukyo says I love you," Ranma informed him conversationally, almost at the same time. "Akane, too."

"You've said the same thing yourself a couple of times," Ryoga offered in a feeble attempt at humor. He paused. "Please come home."

"And do what?" she wanted to know. "Be your wife? Cook and clean for you, Ryoga, 'cause I won't. Take care of your kid? No way."

"For now, eat some supper," Ryoga countered. "Go to sleep. In the morning we can talk more. You aren't going to turn down supper and a warm bed, are you, just because you're scared of me?"

Ranma's eyes widened. This was more like the Ryoga she knew. "I'm not scared of you."

"Come a little closer and say that," Ryoga added, noting their separateness. To someone casually glancing their way, they didn't look married – not even like friends. Ranma's distance from Ryoga signified that they were strangers. Maybe a young man stopping to ask a young woman for directions, or if she had a light, or if she happened to have the time. They were two completely unconnected people standing in the street like that.

Ranma knew it. "Fine." She took two paces towards him. "Can we go now?"

Something in him relaxed – maybe in his shoulders, maybe in his eyes – but he was the unfamiliar Ryoga again, the one with a loping, relaxed gait and easy smile. "'Course," he replied, and the two began to walk down the street back towards the Tendo household.

_My house_, Ranma suddenly reminded herself. _If anything, he should leave, not me. What did he have to do with the Tendos before he knew me?_

"Are you hungry?" Ryoga inquired.

"I'm starving!" Ranma announced. She hadn't gotten much at Ukyo's for lunch... _Ukyo... she double-crossed me._

_ You could still leave_, a little voice in her head reminded her.

But already she knew she wouldn't. She had a comfortable place to stay, and Ryoga was playing nice – there was no reason _not_ to stay. Unless she was afraid.

And that was impossible.

"I'm glad you're hungry. I got nervous and made a lot," Ryoga explained with that wry grin on his face again.

"You cook?"

Ryoga shrugged. "We trade off, but it turns out that I make breakfast most of the time, and you make dinner most of the time. Because of our schedules, you know."

Ranma didn't know, but didn't particularly _want_ to. Little details like that were making this less and less like a strange sort of dream she might be able to ignore. "You knew where I was."

"Akane called me from Ukyo's," Ryoga replied.

"Akane? Ukyo was asleep! What was she doing there?"

Ryoga stared at her for a moment before replying with what seemed to be excess caution. "Sleeping, also... I'd guess."

"Oh, a sleepover," Ranma replied in sudden understanding, wondering at his hesitance. "Probably watching all kinds of girly movies and stuff."

Ryoga snorted to himself. "Yeah, maybe."

Ranma smiled; this was more like it. This was more like reality, just talking like this. The only difference was that Ryoga seemed to have the upper hand this time, because he actually knew what was going on, knew what had happened in these past six years, probably knew all kinds of things Ranma didn't. Ranma didn't like that feeling at all. Maybe she could convince him to tell her her life story, even if it might make her gag or might cause him to get romantic notions. She was just wondering whether she should ask straight out or just continue to give him more little prompts like the dinner thing so that she could soak up information without Ryoga figuring what she was about.

But was it important to conceal motives from him? He was her husband, after all. And, according to every single person she'd ever trusted, he was a Good Guy. She knew Ryoga was loyal and guillible, too. Maybe she didn't have to worry about him really.

"Here we are," Ryoga said helpfully as they came within sight of the Tendo compound. Ranma pulled the gate open and the two of them re-entered the Tendo home.

Immediately, the smells of food assaulted Ranma's nose.

"It's probably already cold, so I'll heat it up. You've got to be frozen; you didn't even put on a coat. Why don't you put on pyjamas or something while I just shove this back in the oven for a sec?"

He was trying to make it sound like he wasn't really going out of his way or anything, but Ranma knew that he was doing his best to get on her good side again.

What did it matter? She was really, _really_ cold.

"Be right back," Ranma replied, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Ryoga's suggestions. She closed herself up in Akane's room and disrobed.

Ranma got pictures of Ryoga with his eye to the keyhole, but she knew he wasn't that kind of guy. Even under the influence of enough crazed hormones and infatuation to sink ten sixteen-year-old guys, Ryoga hadn't peeped on Akane, even as P-chan. Ranma _did_ wonder if he was carefully listening for sounds of her departure, however. She'd left once, and she might well decide to leave again.

After Ranma had changed into a fluffy robe (with complete pyjamas underneath – best not give the pervert any ideas) she descended down the stairs, but Ryoga was still busy with the food, not by keyholes or sitting on the steps straining for any untoward noises. She'd forgotten how guillible he was. She said 'okay' and she told him she'd go home. That implied she wasn't about to disappear again, and he believed what she said.

Ranma rolled her eyes as she sat at the table. "Thanks for the food," she said as Ryoga set several steaming plates down in front of her.

Ryoga laughed at her.

"What? What the hell are you giggling over, pig-boy?"

He sobered quickly. "It's leftovers," he replied. "You cooked almost everything on the table. Dig in."

Ranma blinked down at her plate, finding it hard to believe that she'd suddenly acquired the ability to make such items, but there it was. Besides, she'd probably been in a state to do anything her little hubby wanted. It was almost enough to put Ranma off of her food.

Almost. It looked, really, really good though. Once Ryoga sat down, Ranma hesitantly popped a small bit of soup into her mouth. "Mmm, it's good!"

"Don't compliment your own cooking, Ranma," Ryoga advised.

Ranma glared at him from under her lashes as she sipped the soup. That sounded like the old Ryoga, too, somehow. She wished he'd make up his mind.

After a bit of silence, Ranma noted something missing.

"Where's the baby?"

"She's with her auntie Nabiki. Nabiki said she'd look after her for a little while while we got things settled over here."

"Good. I don't know nothin' about kids," Ranma admitted.

Ryoga choked on his soup. "You're such a liar. When she was born, you told me this whole story about how you'd looked after a cousin when you were little, and so you knew everything about babies."

Ranma blinked. "I did? I mean... I sure don't remember a cousin. Are you sure I said that?"

Ryoga nodded firmly, then shook his head in derision. "You're so full of it, Ranma."

How could he casually insult her like this? Weren't they married? What happened to how worried he was a second ago? "I may be full of it, but at least I don't get lost from the front door to the mailbox, pig-boy."

Ryoga stared at her in consternation. "Neither do I."

"Huh?"

"Who led who back home today?"

Ranma paused, thinking back. Ryoga had been in the lead.

He was grinning at her, expecting her to share in his triumph. "So far this is the only up side I can see," he commented. "I get to tell you all of the good things all over again."

"How?" Ranma wanted to know. "I mean, it's not like you woke up one morning and it clicked, is it?" This was the longest conversation she and Ryoga had ever had, minus several in junior high; it was beginning to develop an odd-but-not-odd feeling for the redhead. She remembered when Ryoga had been this friendly to her, but that was a long time ago.

"No, actually, it was you."

"Me?"

"You and old Cologne, anyway, before she left for China," he clarified. "You seemed to have the idea that getting lost had something to do with inadvertently using my depression chi."

Ranma's eyebrows lifted. "No way, man."

"Yeah, actually. Without noticing it, I was... moving myself. I'd get lost in thought – always something upsetting – and when I looked up, I was someplace else. That was pretty much it. When I learned to control it, it got to be no big deal."

The conversation petered out. Ranma finished her soup and moved on to the rest of the meal, but even for her, the silence was beginning to be uncomfortable.

"I always believed you about your cousin, though, because you were so good with Sa-chan," Ryoga suddenly added.

Ranma snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure I'm the perfect paragon of a housewife."

"Oh! Is that what you're worried about?"

"Is that what I'm worried about?!" Ranma snapped. "Hell yes, among other things. What the hell made you think I was... marriagable?"

Ryoga set his chopsticks down meditatively. "You're a paragon of a lot of things, Ranma, but housewife isn't one of them. You won't wear pink. You don't cook or clean for me any more than I cook or clean for you. I don't give you an allowance, or anything like that. You have a job. We waited to have children. The idea wasn't to pop them out as many as possible as quickly as possible. Are you beginning to get a picture, here?"

Ranma nodded grudgingly. "I guess. So what's my job?"

"You teach martial arts," Ryoga supplied, "here at the dojo. You haven't been, lately, because of Sachiko, but just the other day you were saying it was time to start up again."

Ranma noted that, despite the fact that Ryoga was referring to her in the second person, his eyes were lowered and faraway. He was missing her, this other Ranma, but was trying to keep it to himself. She flushed, suddenly uncomfortable without knowing why.

"And... and you?"

"I'm a construction worker," Ryoga replied, his discomfort sloughing off.

Ranma grinned. "Bakusai Tenketsu," she replied.

"Yeah. Figured that there's gotta be some kind of good use for it other than breaking up city streets."

Ranma laughed.

"Ah, there it is! Your teeth! I knew that they were around there someplace..." He was smiling at her, too. All of a sudden, he'd forgotten she wasn't this other Ranma, and that was even worse. The smile slid off of Ranma's face.

"Shut up, Ryoga. Far as I'm concerned, I'm a _guy_ and you're a _guy_, and..."

"Did you know that two men kissed on network television?" Ryoga suddenly queried, serving Ranma some more veggies.

"_Whaaaa?!_"

"That's right, Ranma." Ryoga was looking smug.

"On _T.V._?"

"Uh huh. Right in front of God and everyone," Ryoga said, employing a phrase Ranma had heard him use before.

Ranma poked silently at her vegetables.

"Times change, don't they?" Ryoga inquired.

Ranma looked at her husband. "They damn well do," she swore.

They parted on the second floor, Ranma heading for Akane's room, Ryoga for Kasumi's – but Ryoga stopped her before she could escape him completely. His hand wrapped around her wrist so suddenly that Ranma almost whirled around to hit him.

"What?!" she snapped, her voice coming out a little more panicky than she'd intended. "Look, I know I'm supposed to be your wife, but..."

Ryoga tilted his head to the side in inquiry, waiting for her to finish.

Ranma hadn't known he would do that. The old Ryoga was always assuming, always interrupting, always construing the worst possible meaning from the words she'd uttered. She wasn't used to his polite, steady, intense gaze. She fidgeted under his eyes.

"I... uh, I mean... I'm your wife, but... I don't... remember being your... Why are you looking at me like that?!"

"Will you promise me that you're not going to take off in the next week or so?"

"Ryoga..."

"I'm serious." His eyes were shadowed and stared into her with a directness she wasn't used to from the Lost Boy. When she'd known him, he seldom, if ever, made eye contact. Now he held her blue eyes with his hazel ones until hers dropped to the carpet. Where did he get off being so... so pushy about it?

"If I got up tomorrow, or the next day, and you were just gone..." He swallowed. "I don't know what I would do. I need you to promise. I need your word."

Ranma frowned up at him. "And after that?"

"And after a week or so, if you want to leave, I won't stand in your way."

She examined him in the dim light of the hallway. He appeared to be serious, but then Ryoga always was. The only time she'd ever seen him joke had been in the past several hours. That didn't mean he wouldn't change his mind. He couldn't stop her from leaving, but he could search for her, even with the kid, or he could leave Sachiko with one of her many aunts while he hunted her down.

"Fine," she replied, "but you have to swear you'll really let me go."

Ryoga gulped, and she was surprised to see his eyes were wet. "I will. I swear," he said.

Ranma didn't want to feel like the bad guy here; _he_ had married _her_, after all, not the other way around. But – that didn't make sense, did it? It did to her, but she recognized that the logic wouldn't work for anyone else. She did feel bad, though, for making him miserable. Ranma couldn't live with making anyone cry. It was one of her worst weaknesses and one of her best strengths.

"I'm sorry about this, Ryoga," she said, hoping that would do. She was, really, for him and for her. She just wanted to go back home to where things made sense, but she could understand how he might feel exactly the same way.

Before she knew what was happening, he had pulled her in by the wrist and pressed her close. "I'm sorry, too," he said.

Ranma twitched. It wasn't exactly an unfamiliar embrace, if she were going to be honest with herself. She'd hugged Ryoga a couple of times, and he'd hugged her more than once. But this was different. It was real; he meant it.

Shoving him into the nearest wall was becoming more and more of an option to Ranma's racing brain, but she'd just said she was sorry, and he'd agreed, and that didn't really seem like it should be followed up with a punch. Still, couldn't he understand how uncomfortable this was making her? "Ryoga..."

He was quiet.

She noted, as a strange background to her rising panic, that he smelled like construction: like wood and acrid metal, and some strange, wholesome-smelling soap, plus the smell that was him, that was Ryoga, which she had noticed before. Ranma had a sharper sense of smell than most of the people she knew, and she could pick out Akane's scent, her father's, Ryoga's, and a handful of other people's if she knew them well. Being surrounded by Ryoga's scent was disturbing, as though he'd suddenly risen to envelop her, obscure her in some way.

Just when Ranma was deciding that it was time to shove him as hard as she could, his arms released her. "Goodnight, Ranma," he said, and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. He disappeared away into Kasumi's old room, soundless.

Ranma half-turned, half backed away into Akane's room, scrubbing frantically at her cheek. Being kind was one thing, but she never should have let that go on so long. She sat numbly on the edge of the bed, slowly rubbing away at the spot where he'd kissed her. "I'm a boy. I'm a guy, right?"

_A guy who married another guy. A guy who gave birth to a cute baby girl!_

Had some part of her been enjoying that? She didn't think so, but it was important to try and find out, no matter how unpleasant the answer.

Sorting through the bewilderment and fear and disgust, Ranma found what she'd been looking for. Not exactly love, definitely not lust. Up until the point where she'd begun to smell him, it had been okay, really. Not much of anything, and definitely not anything scary. Come to think of it, it lapsed from not-that-bad into kind-of-good. Kind of... kind of... big-brother good. _Family_ good.

Ranma flushed as she remembered... the interior of Ryoga's house, outside his bedroom door. Akane was inside, and Ranma was bound and determined to prevent anything from happening while the pair was alone. So she'd dyed and braided the wig she'd used to fool Ryoga into thinking she was his fiancee, stole vampire fangs from one of the Tendo sisters' old Halloween costumes, and bought a red leopard-print bandanna... and the next thing she knew, the disguise was more than good enough to fool Ryoga into believing she was his long-lost sister. She'd been pretending to be lonely without him, but that had really just been an excuse to knock him silly for 'abandoning' her.

But his response hadn't been to slap her; instead, he'd drawn her in and given her what he must've thought was a good apology for his behaviour: a hug. It was freaky, and strange, but also... Ranma forced herself to admit it. For a second after the surprise, there had been a sort of nice feeling that came with it, especially since she'd been expecting him to attack her. She'd gotten the impression from his behaviour that he liked her, wanted to protect her, was sorry if he'd ever hurt her. And that was... pleasant... no matter how you looked at it. His hug this time felt the same. Like she was... the six years younger she felt she was.

Like she was a little sister, or something, not his wife.

That was the connection. Ryoga hadn't pressed her to him, or allowed his hands to wander. He hadn't tried to touch her in any place she didn't like. He'd kissed her on the cheek.

He was giving her more space than Ranma had initally supposed.

The redhead crawled into Akane's bed with more than a little trepidation, never having fallen asleep there, so far as she could recall.

_I need to just remember how it was. It shouldn't be so bad I can't remember it, not according to everyone else. Come on, Saotome, _she told herself staunchly. _You can face it. When did you first... kiss Ryoga?_

Nothing.

_All right, maybe that's too much. Uh... what about... a date with Ryoga?_

Ranma grew excited. _I think I'm seeing something! We... we were on a boat, and..._

_ Wait, you idiot. That happened while you were still a guy._

_ All right... what about that time when..._

_ No, that was when you were pretending you were his sister, remember?_

_ Oooh, incest!_

Ranma snorted.

_All right, how about when..._

_ No, that was also when you were a guy... and he almost killed you that time. Sweet guy you've married._

"Mou!"

_How about when..._

_ That wasn't a date! That was a set-up... _

The night wore on while Ranma tried to dredge up something, _anything_ about her life with Ryoga, coming up blank every time.

------

------

Author's Notes:

I know. I swore about the chapter updates. Christmas vacation was a little crazy, and I ended up not having the disc with me when all was said and done. :(

In payment for my foolishness, two chapters this week. Hope you like 'em! C&C!


	4. Sneaky!

Note: Not mine, not yours, blah blah blah...

CHAPTER FOUR: 1996

Ranma woke up and peered around the room. "Aw, _shit_," she declared.

It was morning. Bright light shone in through Akane's window and lit the pale yellow room cheerfully. Ranma's hair was still slightly damp; she'd left it in her braid overnight, causing it to retain a lot of moisture. Grumbling lightly to herself, she pulled the dragon's whisker from her hair and tugged her red hair free of its pigtail, shaking the red curls slightly and running her fingers through it in hopes of drying it out a little more quickly.

She was also still in her regular clothing, and smelling a little rank – not like sweat, but like fear and pond-water. Her grumbling increased in volume. She stood, straightening Akane's bed, and moved to the door.

"Where'd Akane sleep, then?" she wondered to herself.

That question was answered by a small murmur off to her left. Sure enough, Akane was ensconced in a bedroll on the floor, her short hair tickling the back of her neck.

"Hey, tomboy. Tomboy!" Ranma nudged the sleeping figure with her foot.

"Hn?" Akane's eyelids fluttered open. "Ramma, what're you doin' here?" she slurred, obviously having forgotten last night.

"Come on or you'll miss training!" Ranma urged. "I'm gonna go find some clothes... gi... somethin'."

Akane was suddenly wide awake. "Training? With _you_?!"

"No, with the Loch Ness Monster," Ranma replied. "Let's go, let's go!"

Akane was on her feet, a wild-eyed expression decorating her face. "O-okay! Uh... lemmie change."

Ranma meandered from the room, realizing she'd already made another mistake but not able to do much about it. She'd just have to explain it to her father later on.

_Pops_, she reminded herself forcibly.

That started a chain reaction going in her brain; suddenly she knew her next course of action. Provided, of course, that she could get Akane to go along with it.

Moments later, Akane arrived in her yellow gi, panting with the speed at which she'd gone through her early morning ablutions. Her hair was flat on one side from where she'd lay on it in the night.

Ranma tried hard not to laugh. "Easy, killer," she advised with a welcoming grin. "You act like this is the first time we've fought together."

Akane straightened. "Well... well, because it _is_."

Ranma took a deep breath. "Not really. I mean, we fought... that Orochi together, didn't we?"

Akane's smile returned. "Yeah, that's right."

"So let's go for it."

"What about the dojo?"

"Aw, there's more space out here, right?"

"Right."

"So let's go!" Without further ado, Ranma attacked.

Akane brought her arms up to block against the redhead's flurry of attacks, surprised as she was literally pushed backward by the blows. Akane ducked around the redhead and hit her on the back.

Ranma winced, but offered her a small smile. "Point to Akane!"

Akane's smile could have lit up the world. "And ten million to Ranma," she tacked on wryly.

"Let's go!" Ranma repeated, and the two began the exchange of blows.

A half an hour later found Ranma and Akane grinning at one another like maniacs. Akane had a dozen or so new bruises, mostly on her forearms; all Ranma had was a sheen of sweat across her face. "You're not as bad as I thought," the redhead commented with a wink.

"How could you think I was any good _or_ awful? You'd never fight me one on one before, and that's the only way to _really_ know! Did that knock on your head shake something loose?"

Ranma's grin died. "Maybe."

Akane's lips twitched and her own smile disappeared. "You okay? That headache coming back?"

Ranma shrugged. "A little. Anyway, I think that's enough for now."

Akane, who had been maintaining a brave front up until that point, slumped. "You said it. You're so fast! Mou... why can't I be faster?"

Ranma draped an arm over Akane's shoulders. "You will be. Let it come in its own time."

Akane flushed at the close contact. "Uh... your hair..."

Ranma shrugged. "It was still wet from yesterday." She removed her hand from Akane and backed off. "Come to think of it, I'll bet I still stink like pond scum!"

"N-no," Akane stammered softly.

Ranma frowned at her, quickly flipping her hair around and around until it was in a tight coil. Then she wound that coil into a bun, which stayed there the moment she removed her hands.

"Huh?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "It's no big trick. I'll do it on Kasumi's hair later and show you."

Akane's frown reflected the redhead's. "Uh... okay." She shrugged. "Anyway, you can have the furo first. I've got some homework to finish up from last night."

Ranma gave her a nod and a wink before disappearing into the bathroom.

Akane stared after her fiancee. "Exactly how much did that knock shake loose?" she wondered.

------

When Ranma emerged from the furo, clean and male, Akane felt inexplicably relieved. "There you are," she said. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd drowned."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, smartass. You try getting pond scum outta your hair. Anyway, it's all yours."

Akane's eyes followed him as he walked away. Masculine stride, masculine speech, and he'd even insulted her. And not in that catty girly way that he'd insulted her the last time he'd gotten knocked on the head.

_It's not like last time. It's not!_

She'd lost some time in her daydreaming, and had to do battle with a half-naked Nabiki in order to lay her claim to the bathroom. "It's mine!" she cried, trying to keep the door open.

"You snooze, you lose!" Nabiki announced, trying to close the bathroom door behind her.

"Girls can share," Kasumi said placidly, opening the bathroom door and causing Akane and Nabiki to fall into one another.

Meanwhile, Ranma was re-braiding his hair and re-tying it with the dragon's whisker. It had already begun to grow, and was just about waist-length. Shaking his head in consternation, he moved the tie up to its usual place and wandered into the kitchen in search of a pair of scissors.

Genma was in the kitchen. "Ready boy?"

"Sorry, pops, I already trained this morning. Admittedly the workout was a little light, but..."

"What do you mean you've already trained? Just because you've worked on form doesn't mean that you have experienced the heady rush of combat!"

Ranma halted his father mid-rant. "Sorry, already sparred this morning."

"Ah, with that Ryoga fellow." Soun nodded wisely, chomping down on his morning pipe.

Genma stroked his chin. "I see. Well, he _is_ a worthy opponent. I suppose I'll have to let it slide this time."

"Yeah, thanks pops," Ranma replied, eyeing his father with fond amusement. "I really appreciate your sacrifice."

Genma obviously had never heard of sarcasm. His eyes teared like he was going to follow in Soun's footsteps, and he hung onto the other man's shirt. "Oh, my son is so dutiful and respectful!" He paused and glared at the pigtailed boy. "Wait a minute. What's wrong with you?" His frown deepened as he glared behind Ranma. "And what the hell's up with your hair?"

Ranma laughed. "I just forgot about the Dragon's whisker for a sec. And I'm lookin' for a scissor, but..."

"What do you mean you forgot about it?" Genma demanded. "That's _not_ something you forget."

At that moment, Nabiki swept down the stairs. "Whoa, Raaanma," she drawled. "Didn't know you went for the whole bishie look. That's nice." She strode up to him boldly and took a hank of hair in her hands. "Wow. It's real soft, too."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Listen, Nabiki, I do not go for the 'bishie' look. I just misplaced the dragon's whisker is all..."

When Akane and Kasumi come down the stairs, Ranma found himself repeating the same story over again.

"Why, Ranma, it actually is truly beautiful," Kasumi said.

"Kasumi, you don't happen to know where the scissors are, do you?"

Kasumi blinked. "Scissors? Why, no, Ranma, I don't believe we have any scissors in the house."

Even Akane snickered, but Ranma had had enough. "Fine, fine, whatever. I'll pick some up on the way to school." Shaking his head ruefully, he sat down at the kitchen table.

"What's for breakfast, Kasumi?" Soun inquired.

"Oh, this and that," Kasumi replied, putting a gorgeous feast on the table as usual.

When Nabiki, Ranma and Akane went off to school, Ranma paused for a moment at the door.

"What is it, Ranma?" Akane inquired, as Nabiki ran on ahead.

"Aw, I just always feel so bad leaving Kasumi to clean all of that up."

"Huh?"

"I mean, really. If she's gonna cook all of that _every morning_, the least we can do is help her clean it up. I'll lay money on that Soun and Dad don't even lift a finger."

Akane blinked. "I never thought of that before."

Ranma shook his head, finally beginning to walk again. "I'm serious, Akane. That girl does too much. I mean, she's only a teenager, like us, and she does the shopping, the cooking, the repairs... pretty much everything. Kasumi's only three years older than you, you know. She's just a kid."

Akane frowned in thought. "Wow. I never thought of Kasumi as a kid before. I mean, even when she was. And she's not, now. She's an adult. She's out of high school, right?"

Ranma shook his head. "Yeah. Whatever. That chick is headed for a breakdown before she's twenty-five. Anyway, I'm gonna try to do more around the house. And if pops thinks it's 'unmanly', he can kiss my ass."

Akane giggled. "All right. If you do, I will, too."

"That's my girl," Ranma replied with a sunny smile. "So... honestly. What about the hair? Is Kasumi right, or is it just stupid lookin'?"

Akane blinked as Ranma turned around for her to view the cascade of wavy, pitch-black hair that winked and caught in the sun. "Uh... er..." she stammered.

"Yeah, it's stupid, huh?"

"Stupid doesn't enter into it..." Akane mumbled.

"Ah! The sunlight doth shine more brightly at the sight of the beauteous Akane Tendo... and... excuse me, sir, but what shall I call you?"

Ranma covered his mouth with his hand. "Er... hi, Kuno-sempai."

It was indeed Tatewaki Kuno, in all his glorious glory. Or something. Apparently, he had decided to meet up with the beauteous Akane Tendo and the winsome pigtailed goddess on the path that led to school, rather than by the gates.

"Wonderful," Akane breathed.

"It's me, Kuno," Ranma said patiently. "Saotome Ranma."

"The foul sorceror? Nay! Though you may be his brother, you cannot be he; for his hair is but shoulder-length, while yours... may I say... goodness, it's long."

Ranma was giggling behind his hand again. "This guy's more fun than anybody," he confided to Akane. "Ahem. Well, you could say that I know him very well. The pigtailed girl you like so much is my sister. We're _both_ enslaved by the evil sorceror!"

Akane and Kuno gasped in tandem.

"Lo! That the foul sorceror should stoop so low as to enslave a young man in the prime of his days, as well as a young lady in the flower of her womanhood!" Kuno intoned. "But worry not; I shall save you and your sister both!"

Ranma nodded gravely. "Oh, thank you, Kuno-sempai!" He batted his eyes, and dragged Akane away.

Akane felt like she'd been turned to stone. "What... the... hell... was... that?!" she demanded, planting her feet and refusing to move.

Once Akane had decided she wasn't going anyplace, it was hard to gainsay her. Ranma tugged on his fiancee's arm to find that it wasn't helping. "What do you mean?"

"You actually _built_ on his delusion! What the hell's _wrong_ with you?!"

Ranma sobered almost immediately. "Gee, Akane, I'm sorry; I had no idea you'd take it like this. I just thought it'd be funny." He shrugged. "Look, I've tried everything I can think of to get him off my back; I thought, any way I can get away from him is cool, you know?"

Akane shook her head. "You don't understand! Now he'll be after you even more than ever!"

"Not while I've got long hair, he won't. Now he wants to protect me, instead."

Akane's mouth slid open. "Well... well, yeah... but..."

"But what? I know it's rude to tease a madman and all, but what else am I supposed to do?" Ranma straightened. "Here, I know what'll make you feel better." He released Akane's arm and strode back to Kuno. After a small exchange, Kuno shrugged and nodded.

Akane blinked rapidly to see that the two of them were heading straight for her. "W-what?"

"Ranma here has informed me that the pigtailed goddess will not be making an appearance today, if the evil sorceror has anything to say about it," Kuno explained, "so I may go inside."

When Akane turned to stare at Ranma, the long-haired boy gave her a peace sign and a wide grin.

------

Akane found herself staring at her fiance all throughout English class. Ranma wasn't paying attention, of course, but he wasn't sleeping, either. Instead, he was staring at the board with every appearance of quiet deep thought, but she could see that his eyes were glazed over: his mind was far from the subject of conjugating irregular verbs. She wondered what was going on in his head. If only Tofu-sensei hadn't gone missing recently, she'd drag him off right now. There was no doubt he'd been acting different lately, and seemingly as a direct result of hitting his head.

"Akane!"

Akane stiffened in her chair. _Uh oh_.

"Stare at your fiance on your own time," Hinako-sensei admonished. "Buckets!"

Akane started in her chair, feeling her face heat. "I wasn't–"

"Buckets!"

Akane rose, grumbling about fiancees and stupid koi ponds. She stomped outside the classroom and began contemplating her existence.

She didn't have long to contemplate. "Sorry, teach! Those pressure points are impossible to resist!"

Akane's face learned new shades of pink as the entire class could be heard tittering from behind the closed classroom door.

Moments later, Ranma emerged, a pink handprint standing out on his left cheek.

"Ranma!!!" Akane snapped. "What –"

"Figured I'd keep you company," Ranma replied, balancing the bucket of water on his head with a cheerful expression. "Figured we could talk."

"T-talk?"

Ranma nodded. "Whup!" he exclaimed, weaving his body to re-balance the bucket before it fell from his bobbing head.

Akane couldn't help but smile. "Idiot."

"Guilty. Anyway, what was up back there? I know you're too much of a tomboy to have any kinda _romantic_ notions about me, but you sure were staring."

Akane flinched, but did her best to hold her peace. After all, she really _did_ want to know what was wrong with her fiance, and talking to him... would seem to be the only way of finding that out. If she... and he... could survive a conversation longer than five minutes, that was. "Er..."

"Take your time."

Akane stomped her foot. "Well... well, don't you see how _different_ you're acting since you fell?" Her voice came out one part petulant, one part defiant.

"That so?"

Akane nodded eagerly. "Yeah! All... I don't know. Help me out here!"

Ranma shrugged. "More... self-assured?"

Akane nodded again. "Hey. That's a little egotistical, isn't it?"

"Not from my point of view. How else?"

"I don't know," Akane filled in with a worried frown. Truth was, she _did_ know, but she didn't know how to say it: Ranma just wasn't acting as _sincere_ as he usually did. Whether he was insulting her, beating someone up, or saving her life, Ranma was always flat-out truthful – no matter how much it hurt him or others. Somehow, she got the feeling that had changed.

"Hey... hey, tomboy. Where'd you go?"

Akane snapped to attention again. "I dunno, Ranma. I just... I just wish you'd tell me what's going on."

Ranma's features softened, and he put a careful hand on her shoulder. "Aw, Akane... you know that whatever happens to me, we'll always be cool, right?"

Akane blinked up at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that..." Ranma took a deep breath. "Never mind, you'll just say I'm acting weird again."

Akane's heart was thumping in her chest. "Go ahead. I won't make fun. I promise."

Ranma's hesitant smile set her heart pounding even harder, like a bass drum. "What I mean is, even if we never get married... even if you moved far away... even if we don't ever even kiss for real... I'll always like you."

Akane felt the bottom drop out of her world. "R-Ranma...?" Tears pooled in her eyes. "W-what are you saying?!"

Ranma viewed her with concern. "What did I say now?"

"What would make you say those things? Are... are you leaving Nerima?"

To Akane's relief, shock gave way to amusement and then outright laughter on Ranma's face. "Leaving Nerima? That some kinda joke? I'd have a whole entourage outta the city!"

Akane felt herself relax. "It's true," she admitted wryly. "Damn it, you've already made me cry twice this week!"

Ranma's expression shifted back to concerned and more than a little vulnerable. "I'm sorry, Akane." He squeezed her shoulder. "I do this to you way too often, huh? I'm sorry."

Akane flushed again. Ranma sure was putting her through her paces, today. She didn't recall when she'd last been so embarrassed or confused. Probably when the redhead had first made her appearance.

Speaking of redheads... Akane's eyes traveled to Ranma's currently masculine form. "Noticed you avoided getting splashed today, somehow," she commented, trying to regain her equilibrium. "Isn't balancing that on your head just tempting fate?"

"Fate screws me over anyway. Why not fuck around with 'er?"

Akane blinked at him. "Ranma... we're in school."

"Huh?"

"Don't curse in school, Ranma. We'll get in trouble."

Ranma shook his head. "But, Akane..."

The water fell of course. The real kicker was that Kuno appeared shortly thereafter, in search of his pigtailed girl.

Ranma, spotting the kendoist ahead of the startled Akane, grinned. "See? She's got it in for me, either way."

"Oh, pigtailed...!" Kuno cut off. "Wait a moment. Whysoever is your hair...?"

Ranma smiled sweetly at him. "You must be Kuno!"

Akane and Kuno stared at the redhead, who had just turned on her cute-as-a-million-puppies act. "Huh?!" they demanded in unison.

"My brother and my sister have told me sooo much about you!" Ranma tacked on.

Kuno frowned. "Wait a moment," he repeated, as if attempting to get the 'facts' straight. "So, you are the sister of the pigtailed maiden and of the longhaired bishonen I conversed with earlier?"

"That's right!" Ranma exclaimed with a well-don't-you-get-a-prize smile. "I'm _also_ in thrall! My sister told me you try to _save her_ all the time! By groping her, of course, but I'm sure you mean well."

Akane's jaw dropped. "Ranma, what are you...?!"

"And... and you are all called Ranma?" Kuno inquired. "The pigtailed girl hath uttered it thus occasionally, and occasionally I have heard others call her thus. And yet... three siblings, all with the same name?"

"Four!" Ranma supplied.

Akane's buckets dropped to the floor in shock, splashing her shoes thoroughly.

"That's right, Akane, didn't you know? The foul _sorceror_ Saotome is our brother, too! In fact, we all work the magic a little, it's just that big bro is so much _better_ than we are. He can make us do _anything he wants_."

Kuno's eyes blanked, briefly; he was obviously imagining just what it was that Ranma's older brother Ranma did to she and Ranma and Ranma when no one else was around. "Surely not!" he exclaimed, a bit of drool hanging off of his lip.

"Sorry, but it's true! Even Ranma's bore the sorceror's attentions with grace, hoping to save his poor sisters the humiliation."

Akane's jaw, which didn't seem like it could have possibly fallen further... well, fell.

Kuno's fists clenched and his arm shook with the force of his revulsion. "Never you fear, Ranma. I shall save you from the evil clutches of your older brother, once and for all!"

"Why, Kuno-sempai! Don't say that where my sister can hear. She has quite the crush on you, you know."

Kuno blinked. "She... does?" He appeared amazed by this turn of events, but only for a moment. "Of course! Bwah hah ha! Never shall I disappoint her love! But... perhaps there is room in my heart for... three women?"

"Don't even think about it," Akane hissed.

"Verily, two is probably more than enough," Kuno ammended hastily as Akane's battle aura flared up, catching on to a female's anger for what was, perhaps, the very first time.

"Sure is," Ranma agreed cheerfully. "Besides, I don't mind. I think of you as an older brother-type, Kuno-sempai!"

Kuno seemed to grow inches taller. "Well. I see. Then let me console you with a brotherly hug!"

Akane watched in horror as Kuno nearly smothered Ranma in his arms. The redhead put up with it with good grace, though, merely twitching a moment before letting the hug dissolve naturally.

"Oh, Kuno-sempai, I owe you forever! Now, I must go back to class, all right?"

"Oh, she of the proud and cheerful spirit!" Kuno exclaimed, backing away from her as though he could not bear to take his eyes from hers. "She that speaks of going to school and doing well despite the torments she endures from her very own brother! My heart aches for thee, Saotome Ranma!"

"Bai bai!" Ranma waved enthusiastically until the older boy rounded a corner in the hallway, exuding an aura in the visible spectrum. Akane, only familiar with auras based on confidence, depression, and righteous anger, didn't recognize the kendoist's, but she likely didn't care.

"'Bai bai?!'" she quoted dangerously.

"Don't tell me you're upset about messing with _Kuno _again," Ranma protested. "I mean, seriously. The guy's several bricks shy of a load."

"That's precisely why it's not right to egg him on!" Akane exclaimed. "You're just built on his fantasy world _again!_ What's wrong with you, Ranma?! You've been acting deceitful and... and sneaky!... ever since you woke up!"

"Sneaky?"

"Sneaky!" Akane confirmed, her face right in his. "Like you're hiding something!"

"Heh! Maybe I am, and maybe I ain't."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Akane demanded. She'd reached her breaking point a long time ago; and she was yelling instead of hitting simply because the expression on Ranma's face when she did so gave her more of a feeling of satisfaction and relief that physical violence. He seemed to be flinching with every word she said.

That should've given her pause, but Akane, when angry, was not the pausing kind.

"Just what it sounds like. I don't know exactly what happened to me," Ranma finally snapped. "I'm really confused, all right? I'm..." The redhead lowered her voice with difficulty, as one of the other teachers opened a classroom door to find the source of all the noise.

Akane, with a guilty yelp, grabbed her buckets and tried to look innocent.

"...I'm hovering at the edge, here, Akane," Ranma said, almost quiet enough so that Akane wasn't sure that was what she'd said. "Don't lemmie fool you. I'm... I'm in real trouble, and I might need you real soon."

Akane's anger seemed to drain out of her. "Need... me?"

"Yeah, and anyone else who's really my friend. Understand?"

The youngest Tendo didn't. She looked back to the redhead, whose damp hair was falling across her forehead in drying ringlets, plastered, in one spot, to the redhead's cheek.

It was the first time Akane had seen Ranma-onna with long hair. She was even more beautiful than usual. A roiling in Akane's stomach signaled approaching jealousy; her own hair, after all, had been taken from her by force. A heat in her cheeks and a thumping in her chest signaled something else entirely.

"I'm your friend," Akane said, and at the moment she sincerely meant it. There was something about Ranma when she was a girl, something that reminded Akane forcibly of that very first, hesitant, shy, awkward smile Ranma had given her. Right then and there her heart had melted. Ranma had the same expression on her face now, quiet and troubled and more than a little nervous.

It just wasn't right that he had the ability to pull this on her.

Those blue eyes were boring into hers. "Will you be my friend no matter what?"

"What's that supposed to mean? If we're friends, we're friends! I'm not the type of girl who changes friends that easily, you know!" she snapped.

To her surprise, a hint of a smile reasserted itself on Ranma's face, despite Akane's harsh words.

_What do you know? Somehow I said the right thing!_ "Uhhh..." Akane stammered, finding herself fidgeting under Ranma's growing smile.

"Even if I turn out to be a pervert for real?"

Akane stiffened. "What would make you say _that_?! You're just teasing me again, aren't you?"

"Ha! Look at how uncomfortable you are! Just say the word 'pervert' and it's like there's a chain reaction in your brain."

"You _are_ teasing me! I knew it..." Akane mumbled something derogatory under her breath, stamping her foot in embarrassed anger. It never failed. Any time she felt she'd given the slightest bit of her heart to Ranma, he pulled the rug out from under her. Next he'd say he loved her and tell her later on that he'd been kidding!1

"You're the most insecure girl I've ever met!" Ranma fumed.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Akane screeched.

"What it means is that no matter how I put things you assume the worst of me. Or at least, that's what I used to think. But now I know that it ain't got nothing to do with me. You can't stop yourself from thinking someone's insulting you, because that's what you're telling yourself."

"That makes no sense!" Akane shot back, without considering it much.

"I tell you I'm going through some serious shit and this is what you shoot back at me!" the redhead accused. "Some friend!"

Akane's mouth snapped shut so quickly that her teeth clicked. "Wait a minute... _you_ started it!"

"How? By asking you to trust me? By asking you for your _support_?!"

Akane, who often forgot the beginning of an argument by the time she was halfway through it, paused. "You called me insecure."

"No. I used the word, 'pervert'. That's what started this whole mess."

Akane considered that. "It's not a dirty word in and of itself." Her voice was slightly conciliatory. "I just... I know I call you perverted, Ranma... but you must be the least perverted guy I know."

Ranma winced. "Right..."

"No, it's true. Not like all men aren't!" she suddenly cried. Her features smoothed, calmed. "But as men go, you're pretty good about laying off me. I... appreciate it."

"Not like I'd ever assault you along with the hentai horde," Ranma agreed, but her tone was defensive.

"That was how this argument got started!" Akane exclaimed, with a 'eureka!' expression on her face. "Kuno! You teasing Kuno!"

Ranma sighed. "And here I thought it started with you calling me a sneak."

Akane blinked. "Oh... uh..."

"Can we just start this conversation again?" Ranma queried wearily.  
This sounded like a good idea to the youngest Tendo girl. "How about this whole _year_?"

Ranma froze. "No!"

"Okay, then, I guess I sort of see your point, there," Akane conceded. "So the conversation. I just promised to be there for you..." she blushed. "And... and wasn't."

"Old habits die hard," Ranma told her gently.

"What did you mean by... by would I like you if you were perverted?" Akane inquired in almost a whisper. "You... didn't mean anything ecchi by that, did you?"

"Now we're getting somewhere," Ranma joked. "What exactly were you thinking of?"

Akane's face heated. "Well..."

"Let me get this straight," Ranma continued. "I say the word 'perverted' – you think perverted thoughts – and then you yell at _me_ for being a pervert."

Akane's blush deepend. "Wait a minute!"

"No, think about it."

Akane did. Her blush became a four-alarm fire. "But you were thinking, too... uh... weren't you?"

"I can't let you know until you tell me what _you_ were thinking of."

"Is this just some kind of trick to get me to talk dirty?" Akane managed.

Ranma laughed. "So you do have a sense of humor about this!"

Akane grumbled softly to herself. "Well, all _right_. I was thinking... that maybe you were wondering... about what we'd do as a married couple?"

"You mean how we'd have sex?"

"Shh!!!!"

"Okay, okay."

"Yeah, like... like if you wanted to... uh... as a... like you are now."

Ranma looked down at her female form. "I see. So that's what you thought."

"And that wasn't what you were referring to?"

"No."

Tears gathered into Akane's eyes. "You mean, all this time _I've_ been the pervert?"

"Akane, don't take it so hard. Most of the guys at Furinkan are _way_ perverted. Much more than you."

Akane sniffled.

"No, really! But you should keep this in mind: any time you decide a boy must be thinking something... in particular... realize that the thought had to be in your own brain, first."

Akane's eyes widened, and she nodded slowly to herself. "It's true. It's not like... a boy is... projecting nasty thoughts... is he?"

Ranma shook her head with a gentle smile. "Nope."

"Ugh! I feel..."

"Don't blame yourself. It's the whole hentai horde thing that's got you thinking this way. You'll get over it once you get to college and get that whole nightmare out of your system."

"You think?"

"Sure! Though if I was you, I'd probably have a problem liking _any_ guy after all of that."

"Do you know, sometimes, I...?" Akane blinked. "Wait a minute. There you go again! All... all manipulative..."

Ranma blinked. "Ha! So much for helping you out!"

"No! I mean..." Akane subsided, a blush heating her cheeks. "I don't know how long this new maturity of yours is gonna last, so... keep going."

"Maturity. Thanks; I like that."

"Sometimes I'll look at a boy and think he's... cute, or something. But the moment they get too close, I feel... violated. Violent. Angry!"

Ranma nodded. "'Course. That's the Furinkan High version of romance!"

Akane giggled. "Ha! Maybe." She peered at Ranma through her bangs. "Listen, Ranma... uh... I know you don't want to talk about all of this now, but if you do later on I'll listen to you." She smiled. "I'm not good at being your friend, but maybe if we practice some more I'll get better..."

Ranma smiled doubtfully. "Hope so, Akane. And I hope I'll be better about not saying... upsetting things."

"And Kuno?" Akane wanted to know.

------

Nabiki grinned as her cash cow sauntered through the classroom door. "Kuno, have I got a deal for you!" she exclaimed.

"Do you have a group picture?" Kuno inquired.

Nabiki blinked. "A what kind of picture?'

"Dost though have a photograph of Ranma, her brothers and her sister?"

"Brothers and sister?" Nabiki inquired blankly. "What would you want with Ranma's picture anyway?"

"Fool woman! That's whose picture I've been buying from you since she arrived!"

Nabiki blinked. "Wait a minute. But you've been denying that your pigtailed maiden is Ranma since she arrived!"

Kuno scowled. "Two people can certainly have the same name. Why, the number of 'Akane's I met last summer was preposterous! Ranma and Ranma simply have the same name; not to mention Ranma and Ranma. Do you not think that it is a strange family to begin with, that named four siblings 'Ranma'?"

Nabiki choked on air. "What?!"

"I know; it's _insane_, isn't it?" Kuno inquired in what might be mistook for the voice of reason in anyone else. "If you don't have any group shots, I shall commission a pair. 10,000 yen is my limit this time, woman. You've already sucked my finances dry for this month."

"Now you want a pair of group photos of _whom_, exactly?"

Kuno stared at Nabiki as though she'd lost her mind. "Can it be you do not know of Ranma? Or Ranma, either?"

Nabiki returned the favor. "That's the same person, Kuno."

"No; rather, the same name."

"So who is this again?" Nabiki repeated patiently.

"The pigtailed goddess," Kuno explained, echoing her tone, "has a younger sister. She is a sweet and darling..."

"Nude shots?"

Kuno looked shocked of all things. "How dare you seek to pervert the innocent cuteness of such a one? I won't forgive you!"

Nabiki blinked. "Sooo... okay. So you want a picture of these two girls... together?"

"In the same shot," Kuno repeated ominously. "Not 'together' by any stretch of the imagination. And with their brother, of course." He colored. "I assume... that a family portrait will be more...expedient?"

"With their brother. And that would be...?"

"Ranma!" Kuno paused. "The long-haired bishonen boy I glimpsed earlier this morning."

"Let me get this straight. Does the girl Ranma have long hair?"

Kuno nodded eagerly. "And so does Ranma. But Ranma and the sorceror have hair that is... how to say? Shoulder-length. Braided, usually."

Nabiki worked hard to keep her face inexpressive. "And... and they're _all_ called Ranma?"

Kuno nodded again. "Yes." He frowned. "Perhaps it is easier to call them the foul sorceror, the pigtailed girl, Ranma-chan and Ranma?"

"Whatever works for you," Nabiki murmured in disbelief.

"I do wonder what their parents call them around the house?" Kuno inquired.

"Is that logic I hear?" Nabiki asked suspiciously.

Kuno shook his head vehemently. "Never would I doubt the word of anyone so pure, so lovely, as Ranma-chan."

"Are you sure you aren't ill?" Nabiki inquired. Kuno's delusions had grown by leaps and bounds seemingly overnight.

And all because Ranma now had long, luxuriant hair!

------

The way home from school is always fraught with peril. Ranma, who had managed to change back during the course of the school day, nearly made close and intimate friends with one of Mousse's shuriken from lack of attention.

"Ranma!" Akane screeched, warning the martial artist just in time. Ranma flipped through the air, his long hair swishing in the breeze.

Mousse flipped on his glasses and stared intently at Ranma. "Dear lord... miss, I'm so sorry!"

Ranma flinched. "What?!"

"I thought you were someone else!" Mousse cried and fled the scene.

Akane began to giggle.

"Shut up, you idiot," Ranma demanded, fingering his long hair.

Akane began to guffaw.

"Shut up, I said!" Ranma ordered, but her laughter rang throughout the streets of Nerima all the way to the Cat Cafe.

------

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

------

I almost stopped posting this story.

The reason is simple: I was flamed. It was my first real flame, and so now I know why people _always_ say that they want C&C, but no flames. And I think I understand why it's called one. I read the bad review – no, not just a bad review, but an actual insult – and my cheeks heated. I turned bright red. _What am I doing writing? _I thought. _I'm lame, totally lame..._

Many critics aren't writers, but those who are know that putting your stories up for everyone to see is a lot like showing yourself naked. Online, it might be like showing others a _picture_ of yourself naked. At least you're not around when they say, _hmm... well, is this any good?_

Still...

I'm about to release a stream of stories I consider... controversial, so I should get a thicker skin. The fact that this story bugged somebody means it had an effect, stirred someone to life, and that's the idea. So I'll keep doing it.

As for my take on Ryoga... I think I may make character pages on my website to discuss that. My analysis of his character would probably be about as long as this chapter, but I'll attempt to sum up. Ryoga started off pretty noble in the series, with some severe impediments like an awful sense of direction and a hopeless nervousness around girls his own age. He was strong and resourceful, but that was all he had going for him. Moreover, he found Ranma's theft of his sandwiches so devastating that he followed him across a foreign continent – he was physically strong, but so weak emotionally that he was by turns funny and pitiful.

This does not make him a good rival; it makes him an object of ridicule, and sometimes of admiration. Think back to the many, _many_ fics which have examined Ryoga's suicidal depression as a serious, dark, moody thing; the fics which have idolized Ryoga, made him stronger and faster and better than Ranma. They evolved naturally from canon, the way counterculture does from a culture.

This was no good for the canon story as a whole. We can get pissed at Ranma, exasperated at Ranma, but in the end we can't hate him. He's the main character. Takahashi realized she'd made Ryoga's character far too noble, and, heck yeah, pitiful. Thus, his character undergoes a particularly nasty alteration.

The koi rod episode was the lowest point in his history as a character. The tea kettle, near the end of Ranma 1/2, was the highest. Ryoga also spans everything in between. It's viable to take him as a diabolical villian, a challenging rival, a friendly rival, a friend, or... more. I've seen excellent stories that see Ryoga as one of each of these, or that show him progressing from one position to another, as he sporadically does in canon. I don't think there's another character in the Ranma 1/2 universe that has more ambiguity, except perhaps Cologne.

Other than hating Ranma, Ryoga's emotional vasciallations can simply be taken as part of his 'weak' emotional nature. Ryoga isn't steady in anything else, emotionally; why should his feelings towards Ranma, or his good/evil leanings be any different? However, as an author, I can smell a plot device a mile away, and Ryoga's sudden malevolence seems particularly transparent.

-K

* * *

1 Well... er, Ranma _does_ do that, I'm afraid. Just not yet. For those of you who are really into strict canon, this is a hint as to when my fic really takes place. 


	5. Baths and Mealtimes

CHAPTER FIVE: 2004

Ranma sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Huh?"

Sunlight was shimmering through the window illuminating the redhead's tired features. Ranma yawned and stretched, rising from Akane's old bed and gazing around. It took a moment for everything to slide into place. After last night's big think, she found herself having to reconsider her entire mental picture of Ryoga Hibiki and herself and their friendly rivalry. She had lost count of the number of times she'd fooled Ryoga into thinking she was someone she wasn't – in her girl form every single time. Was that because it was so easy? And what was it that made it such fun? If she hadn't already known she was married to the guy, such questions wouldn't have even occurred to her, but they were occurring now, at a volume and frequency she found disturbing.

Maybe it wasn't right to do that to a guy. Maybe one day he'd just snapped, and slammed her up against a convenient wall, and... and... and they did what came natural... and he was being so nice just to make up for it all.

_Don't be an idiot, Ranma. Even Ryoga wouldn't do that... unless you'd pushed him beyond the limits of human endurance, that is. But _I_ wouldn't do that. Right?_

Some quiet, vaguely feminine voice added, _and I wouldn't have a baby with a man like that, either_, but Ranma ignored it with the ease of lots and lots of practice.

She descended down the stairs to find Ryoga cooking breakfast. For a moment, she stared at him without speaking, watching him as he stood facing the stove, tossing the skillet's contents. She watched him as though she could divine the past by observing him in everyday circumstance.

It was no use. He was just... Ryoga, her sometime-friend, sometime-rival. The fact that he was being domestic lent some puzzlement to the matter, but so far as she could tell, he was the same guy who'd run at her, screaming 'Prepare to Die!' on numerous occasions. He scarcely even looked older than before; and, in fact, it was impossible to tell he was any different even physically, from the back.

"How long are you going to stand there?" he inquired mildly, without turning.

"Until I've figured this out," Ranma replied.

"Hmph. Then I'll get you a blanket. They say it's gonna be a cold winter."

"Ha ha," Ranma deadpanned, finally entering the kitchen. "Glad to see _one_ of us has a sense of humor about this."

"Plates?"

Ranma wordlessly removed two plates from the kitchen cabinet and handed them to Ryoga, who tossed some eggs onto each one.

"You'll adapt, Ranma. You always do. Besides, you never know; you could wake up tomorrow and it'd all have come back to you."

Ranma privately conceded that the latter could occur, but she still felt more than a little uneasy at the prospect. Suppose she did remember everything and it made her feel worse, not better? "Do you do most of the cooking around here?" she inquired, trying to get her mind off of what-ifs.

"Whoever gets up first does breakfast," Ryoga replied. "That's usually me. You usually do supper, because I get home late. I was wondering if you'd mind making dinner tonight."

"We have it all worked out, huh?" Ranma sniped. Just because she'd had a big think and decided she was sorry for the way she'd treated Ryoga didn't mean she was going to let him in on it. She sat at the table and slumped, leaning her head into her cupped hands.

"No sarcasm first thing in the morning," Ryoga admonished as he set the scrambled eggs in front of her – once again sounding more like an older brother than anything else.

Ranma was taken aback by his playful tone. "Is this all some kind of joke to you?"

"Of course not! It's just... well, wallowing isn't going to get me anywhere, is it?" _Or you_, his pointed look seemed to say.

Ranma eyed him curiously. "Yeah, but..."

"This is just a temporary thing, Ranma."

For the first time, it occurred to Ranma that Ryoga might be her easiest and best source of information. "Have I ever had... memory problems... before?"

Ryoga grinned as he seated himself across from her. "Well, no. But any other problem you can come up with, you've had 'em," he replied. "Okay, think back: weird Chinese curses, forests full of stupidly large creatures, demon gods... not to mention five fiancees..."

"Three," Ranma corrected absently, popping a bit of egg into her mouth. "I think I know how many fiancees I have."

"Five," Ryoga countered, "and it's 'had', Ranma."

Ranma stared at him blankly. "Aw, _crap!_" She wasn't even going to ask about demon gods.

Ryoga began laughing. Ranma did suppose that her shellshocked expression must be kind of funny, but she hit him across the back of the head anyway.

"Oww..."

"Your point being?" Ranma demanded.

"My point is that you've been through a lot, and you just... you're resilient. You'll handle this, like you do everything, and manage to keep it together through it all. It's what I admire most about you."

This was beginning to lapse into uncomfortable territory. "T-this isn't half bad," Ranma commented. "Where'd you learn to cook? Out there on the road all the time, doesn't seem like you'd have time to learn how to make much."

"Yeah, on the road I did okay... but I didn't really learn to cook until Mom taught you and me together." He glanced at her and reconsidered his statement. "Mrs. Saotome, Ranma, your mom."

Ranma choked on a bit of egg and downed some tea before she could continue. "But... the curse!"  
"She was so happy to see you again that she had the family sword melted down and made into your wedding jewelry."

"She... but after saying she'd kill me, right?"

Ryoga sat across from her with a wry grin. "See, it's not _all_ bad news, is it?"

Ranma stared at him for a moment, having a flash of rare insight into how Ryoga must be feeling about all of this; but she shoved it aside to think about later as her joy threatened to overwhelm everything else. "My mother – she knows about all of this?"

"Yup. You should see how she dotes on Sachiko. It's a shame."

Ranma's grin shone from across the table. "Aw, man, I gotta visit her! But what'll I say!"

"It's just Mom, Ranma! You'll do fine."

Ranma opened her mouth to retort, then paused. '_Just mom'! Of course – she's his mom, too. His mother-in-law_.

_My mother is Ryoga's mother_.

It was a weird thought.

Ryoga was watching the expressions flit across her face with undisguised delight. "It was great enough seeing the effects of your first reunion with her," Ryoga commented, gesturing with a chopstick. "I guess you're lucky, getting that feeling twice."

Ranma grinned to herself, scarcely hearing him. It was one small, cherished dream coming true in the midst of all of these nightmares – but as consolation prizes went, it was pretty damned consoling.

Ryoga bolted the rest of his food. "I gotta go, or I'll be late for work." He shrugged a jacket around his shoulders. "Listen, the cell phone number is right here above the kitchen phone. If anything happens – if you remember anything, or if you get in any kind of trouble, just call, okay? I'll keep it on all day."

Ranma stared at him. "You've got a cell phone?"

"Who doesn't?" Ryoga looked confused.

"Oh. Right, right. The new millenium, I keep forgetting."

"We keep extra money for incidentals in the green jar on the kitchen counter," Ryoga went on as he grabbed a briefcase that had seen better days. "Nabiki is supposed to come around two to drop off Sachiko. We're almost out of formula and diapers – story of our lives! – so if you go out, pick some up, okay?"

Ranma forced her mind from playing movies of her reunion with her mother. "Money, jar. Nabiki, two o'clock. Formula. Diapers."

"If you want me to pick up anything from the store, you just call the cell and let me know."

"You're worrying over nothing, Ryoga. I'm Ranma Saotome, ya know. I'll be just fine for eight hours on my own."

"I know, I know, I just..." Ryoga flashed her a small smile. "Nothing. You're right, I'm worrying over nothing again."

_Again?_ Ranma's puzzled frown diffused his smile so effectively that the redhead felt a small twinge of guilt. She supposed that she was constantly telling him to quit bugging her about the little things, to live a little. It seemed like the type of thing she'd... she'd tell Ryoga to do?

_Man... this is waaaay too confusing!_

"Ranma?"

"Mmm?"

"Uh..." He paused at the door, looking briefly like the guy she'd seen upon opening Akane's bedroom door – lost again, far deeper in his own mazes than she'd ever seen him. "It's nothing. I'll see you later."

Ranma jumped a little as the door closed behind him. She peered out the window, but Ryoga had already disappeared. It might be better if he did get lost. That way she could think about this whole thing for a little while, let it sink in and sort it out without any external pressure.

Except for the baby, of course.

Ranma sighed, glaring at the spot where he'd disappeared. "I know I'm his wife, but he ain't got no right to go and... and try ta make me feel guilty about being all screwy like this..." She plopped on the couch, her pale blue robe loose around her.

Ranma gazed down at the pale blue robe in disgust. "Where's my clothes?"

She wandered back into her old room, only to find it'd been turned into an office. "Nice." For a little while she wandered around, pawing through their bills and correspondences, but nothing was very telling except the one at the very bottom.

_Ranma-chan,_ it began, _hope things are well with you and Ryoga and the baby. Was in the forest in China for a long, long time, training with some very skilled monks. Needless to say, no post office in miles. Hope you're not too upset. Yes, of course I've been sending your mother letters. Don't be ridiculous. Do you think I'd be stupid enough to do that twice? Uh... don't answer that. Anyway, be making my way home soon. Been away from you and Nodoka long enough. Don't send another letter via Shampoo's, I'm almost in Tibet now. Love, Your Father._

Ranma watched her hands begin to shake. "Aw, crap," she breathed. "He musta gone off on another training mission without me!" She paused. "'Cause I was gonna have the baby." She searched the letters. "Where's the one that says, 'you've disappointed me forever, I'll never speak to you again'!"

The redhead put the letters back into the drawer and closed it. The last thing she wanted to do was run into some early love letter between Ryoga and herself. Besides that, she suddenly remembered her original purpose. "Clothes."

She exited the office and meandered up the stairs. Akane and Nabiki's rooms were a no-go, of course. Akane obviously still used hers occasionally, and Nabiki's room was now Sachiko's room. That left Kasumi's room and the old master bedroom that she remembered as Soun's.

Peeking into Kasumi's old room revealed another guest room. It was obvious that all of Kasumi's personal items had been removed to... somewhere. All that was left was a made bed, some curtains, and a couple of pieces of furniture.

That left the master bedroom. Ranma climbed the second set of stairs for the first time. She didn't recall being in Soun's room before now.

The decor was... well, it was obvious to Ranma that she'd done it herself; for one thing, the room had been done boldly in red and gold, including the bed. A pair of ancient swords hung on the wall centered over their headboard, one crossing over the other. A small umbrella stand was in the far right corner of the room, and the right nightstand had a pair of workgloves on it.

_That must be his side._

"Aw, mannnn," Ranma drawled in sudden understanding. She moved to the left side of the bed and perched there, feeling a little sick to her stomach. "My side, his side. Well, there's only one way to get a baby, Saotome Ranma." She flinched. "Or is it Hibiki Ranma?"

Ranma opened her dresser drawers and was relieved to find a Chinese shirt, much smaller than her red one of old, but in a similar style. She weighed it in her hands, noting its heaviness. It was very well-made, and an attractive dark green.

She pulled out a pair of black pants – raw silk, and once again a little smaller and probably tighter than she was used to, but all in all, it was relatively close to the way she liked to dress. She was ready to give herself a good wash and face the day.

Ranma moved downstairs to the furo and turned on the hot water, watching it fall into the tub with a slow, sinking feeling. She'd put this off for far too long, but she was frightened of what she might find – afraid that she was stuck in her female form, but also worried that she wasn't. Which was worse? She loved her male form, thought of it as her own body, thought of it as belonging to her. Somehow she'd never achieved that with her female form. After all, she'd grown into her male form all of her life, and, from her point of view, it had only been about a year since she'd had a female one, no matter what the rest of the universe said.

At the same time, imagining herself as Ryoga's wife as a man was... disconcerting. Ranma knew what she hoped for, but both outcomes would make her uncomfortable.

Slowly and deliberately, she unwound her hair from its pigtail, drenched it in water and soaped it up. She washed herself meticulously but professionally, thinking carefully of other things. That had become her habit.

What did it mean that her mother and Pops knew about this, even approved? Akane had told her about her depressive mood, and how it had effected everybody, but it still didn't quite parse to the redhead. What could she have done – what could Ryoga have done – to convince them that this was an okay idea?

It wasn't like men never married men, never had sex with them. Ranma knew that. But not her. That was for perverts, as Akane called 'em, weirdos. It made you less of a man, didn't it? And Ranma certainly had enough femininity as it was.

But maybe that was the problem. Maybe her girl body gave her signals that told her to like Ryoga. Just chemistry. Even so... how could she have let her body overcome fifteen years of... of training?

It was training, right? Just like the martial kind. Walk like this, stand like that. Buy these things and not the other. Talk like so. As a girl, Ranma could and often did abandon all of those rules for a little while, and it was really liberating. She liked to be strong and together and macho and cool and a guy; and she enjoyed being pretty and nice and... and weak?... as a girl. You could talk about feelings as a girl, cry as a girl, eat ice cream as a girl. Even Akane let her do most of those things without calling her a pervert, so long as she was a girl at the time. Ranma liked the dicotomy, liked being able to be both, except when someone groped her or called her dumb.

Being stuck as a girl would be... would be _miserable._

_What about being stuck as a guy?_

Ranma dumped the bucket of cool water over her head and blinked away the water. She'd never thought about it like that before. Of course, being normal again would have been great – amazing. But she would have lost something important.

For the first time, Ranma forced herself to tune in as she was washing her body. She was cold. She was cold more often as a girl, come to think of it. Her body was good-looking, she knew it because she had a guy's brain. But it wasn't like she was admiring some girl from far-off, this body was _hers_...

Ranma faced the mirror, standing up off of the washing bench and peering at herself. _Not just some hot girl..._

_Me. That's me._

Ranma turned slowly in front of the mirror, examining herself from every angle. She hadn't let her body fall apart, that was for sure. Despite having had a kid not too long ago, everything was firm and tight in the right places. Even though she hadn't worn a bra (except once or twice) in the entire year she remembered of being a girl part-time, she hadn't begun to 'sag', contrary to Nabiki and Kasumi's admonitions. She looked good.

_Ryoga's had this_.

Ranma's eyes widened in the mirror, and she flushed. She didn't even remember it, but someone had his hands all over this body in the recent past. Suddenly, she felt shivery and uncomfortable and didn't want to look at herself any more.

Ranma moved to the furo and turned off the tap. She stared at the hot water.

She was clean; maybe she didn't even have to find out. If she didn't know, there wouldn't be any discomfort either way.

Slowly, she dipped one foot in, then submerged herself into the hot water, breaking for the surface and sputtering.

Ranma didn't have to check. The differences couldn't be numbered; some couldn't be described. But it was always easy to tell, even without looking.

Ranma put her head in her hands and cried a little. This was okay, because she was a woman.

-

Ranma sighed as she exited the furo, drying herself off carefully and rumpling her hair. She saw a blowdryer in the cabinet while searching for a comb, but ignored it. Insead, she pulled the snarls out of her hair and braided it wet.

Throwing a towel around her body, Ranma moved upstairs to she and Ryoga's bedroom again. For awhile, she sat on the bed, numb.

Well, of course the curse was locked. Why shouldn't it be? Was it really viable to assume she'd somehow had a child without that? Certainly not. She'd be running from hot water like it was a live thing. Sachiko's existence meant she was cursed.

Searching for a distraction, Ranma moved to the small bookcase on her side of the room, peering at the titles there: _The Art of War_, Sun Tze. _If I Pay Thee Not In Gold_, Piers Anthony. _How to Run a Small Business from your Home_, Reiko Ashikaze. _Causality Loops and You,_ by Hans Pieters. _The Lovers' Annotated Kama Sutra_...

Ranma found herself pulled to the last book against her will. She flipped open to the inside cover.

_Congratulations, Ranma! I know you and Ryoga-kun are both... shy... so I thought this might help. – Nabiki_

Ranma glanced around cautiously before turning to the first page and starting to read.

She was startled out of her examination of page one-hundred and twenty-three by the front door slamming. "Ranma!" a female voice called out.

Ranma slammed the book shut and tossed it on the bed, rushing into her clothing before scooting down the two flights of stairs to find Nabiki in the hallway, holding Sachiko. For a moment, she only had eyes for the small girl. Sachiko looked good, healthy – even cheerful. Ranma let out a relieved breath and turned her attention to the middle Tendo daughter.

Nabiki still looked much the same – only, she had cut her hair even shorter so that it framed her face. The cut was good, and looked expensive. She was wearing a clingy brown sweater of some fine material, and new blue jeans.

"What?" she said. "Is there spit-up on my angora?"

Ranma laughed. "Uh, no," she assured her, taking the baby into her own arms carefully. _Mine_, drifted through her thoughts. "It's just... you look a little different."

"I like that shirt," Nabiki said after a moment's contemplation. "Good color for you."

"Thanks. I like your sweater," Ranma returned, bouncing the baby on her hip. Since this was too much like a conversation between two girls, she abruptly shifted the topic. "Uh, Ryoga told you?"

"Yup," Nabiki returned, just as cool and collected as Ranma remembered her. "It's too bad. This kind of weirdness hasn't come to roost in awhile. So you think you're sixteen, then."

"Not so much," Ranma replied, taken aback by the matter-of-fact way Nabiki was accepting this news. "It's more like that's the last thing I recall."

"Bumping your head in the pond," Nabiki supplied, moving to sit on the couch.

"Uh huh."

"Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time."

"What do you mean?" Ranma joined her on the sofa, shifting Sachiko so that the small girl was sitting on her knee. The baby was very quiet, her dark blue gaze shifting back and forth between to the two women as they spoke.

"Well... the first time you banged your head and believed yourself to be a girl, it took another knock to put you to rights."

"Yeah," Ranma said, having been told this story by Akane and the others before.

"After you got out of the pond the _second_ time, Akane tried to make you act right by the same method she used the first time: hitting you, that is. Needless to say, it didn't work."

"She never mentioned that part," Ranma said dryly.

"It isn't a wonder," Nabiki returned. "She felt very guilty about hitting an injured Ranma when she wasn't even angry about anything. Anyway, she wondered if she hadn't whacked you in the right spot or something, but she wasn't going to hit you from every angle until it worked. She didn't know what she'd done the first time, much less how to replicate it."

"So?"

"So I'm guessing you fell or banged into something, and it landed in the right spot," Nabiki said casually. "Last time, you didn't remember the time you'd spent as a girl. I don't know why this time should be any different."

"Oh."

Sachiko had apparently decided the conversation was over. "Mamamamamaaa..." she babbled.

"See, Sachiko knows her momma," Nabiki replied, tickling the little girl playfully.

"That wasn't 'mama'," Ranma snapped quickly. "She's too small to know any words."

"Well, that's true," Nabiki answered casually. "How many months is she again?"

"Eight and two weeks." Ranma paused. "Hey!"

"Well, looks like there are _some_ things that you do remember."

The redhead looked down at Sachiko. "Ohmigosh."

"What is it?"

"She _is_ mine."

"Ranma, she looks just like you. Was there ever any doubt?"

"I just... oh, man. I just didn't really _understand_..." Ranma gazed at the small bundle in her arms with new wonder. How could it be that this thing had actually _come out of her_? It was beyond belief.

"Mamamamamaaa..." Sachiko continued, delighted by the attention it was getting her.

"Okay, sweetie, that's enough," Nabiki said reasonably.

"..mamamamamama..." Sachiko continued delightedly. She'd added a little clap to the mix: "ma" clap "ma" clap "ma"...

"Whookay," Ranma said, bouncing the little girl on her knee. She swung the girl up into the air and back down, making Sachiko stop babbling to giggle.

"She's had her lunch, but she'll need a snack and some dinner a little later on," Nabiki added tolerantly.

"Thanks Nabiki," Ranma managed, still flying her daughter through the air. "I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome. What are aunts for, anyway?"

"Maybe some free information?"

Nabiki laughed. "Ranma..." Her expression darkened as she caught the redhead's eye. "You're serious." A small pause. "Well, of course you are. I did this once, so I suppose I can do it again." She cleared her throat. "Ranma, I'm sorry I took such horrible advantage of you back in high school. I was having problems of my own, and I didn't realize how rough it was on you, sometimes. But I never should have sold pictures of you, _or_ my sister, to anyone." She grinned. "How's that?"

"Oh. Okay. Uh, that's great."

"Anyway, what did you want to know?"

"More about Ryoga. What really happened? I'm guessing you, of all people, are the one who can tell me the truth."

Nabiki blushed. "Well, you're right in saying that. I did spy on the two of you a lot."

"So?"

"Well, let's see. It started right after you woke up."

"I thought I was catatonic when I first woke up."

"Bit of an oxymoron, isn't it? Anyway, you weren't quite catatonic, Ranma." Nabiki favored her with her old laconic expression. "When you first woke up, you seemed a little bit weirded out, but then you kissed Ryoga."

"Akane never mentioned that."

"Akane didn't see it. Ryoga was the first one who saw you awake. He went into Akane's room, where we'd put you up for the time being. You opened your eyes, saw him, and planted a big fat kiss on him right then and there."

"Oh, geez."

"Geez is right. It was really humorous to me, at the time. Ryoga struggled and flailed and made all kinds of noise. I snapped a couple of pictures, of course. But then, it was really strange. He sort of... gave in. Stopped moving around. I thought he'd passed out, or something. But when you broke for air, he looked all funny and more than a little confused. He walked right past me out the door and he didn't come back to the dojo for weeks." She shrugged.

Ranma shuddered, considering this. "Did you know what was wrong with me?"

"No. No one did. For awhile, I blamed Ryoga. He had to have done something to cause that kind of reaction. Unfortunately, he was as confused as I was, if not more. I guilt-tripped him, big time, until I think he really did believe that your condition was all his fault."

"Well, it was, wasn't it?" Ranma demanded. "I mean, he _did_ knock me into the pond."

"Yeah, but he didn't know what he was doing. He wasn't even fighting with you more seriously than was usual for you two," Nabiki supplied. "What he expected to happen and what _did_ happen are two entirely different things."

"I still don't really understand. Why Ryoga?"

"I'm not sure, Ranma," Nabiki replied. "Maybe the girl-curse just needed a guy your age to latch on to. Ryoga was always close to you, no matter how much he pretended to dislike you, and he was your age." She chuckled throatily. "Come to think of it, consider the other boys up for grabs back then: Kuno... Mousse... Pantyhose..."

"Okay, you can stop there."

Nabiki smiled. "Will do. You get the picture, anyway. Guess you needed a boy and Ryoga was around."

Sachiko blew a raspberry at Nabiki.

"Sorry Sa-chan," Nabiki intoned dramatically, "but it's probably true."

"Does she always do that?" Ranma wondered when the small girl made the sound again.

Nabiki shook her head. "Looks like Sachiko's learned a new skill!" She chucked the small girl under her chin, making her giggle. "Anyway, I've got to go. Listen, me and Kasumi were wondering if we could come over tonight after supper, maybe watch some movies, catch you up to date."

"Uh, sure. That sounds like fun," Ranma replied, bouncing Sachiko again, hoping it would help stop her blowing raspberries at Nabiki.

Sachiko paused suddenly, then let out a wailing cry.

"Oh, no! She bit her tongue!" Ranma stood up, swinging the small girl around in her arms. "It's all right! It's all right!"

Sachiko sniffled and gazed at her mother out of big, dark blue eyes.

"You've still got the touch, Ranma," Nabiki praised her. "See you at, say, nine?"

"Sounds good." Ranma sighed when Nabiki slid out the door.

"Very loyal to Daddy, aren't you?"

"Gah," said the baby, seemingly in reply.

Ranma found a small automatic baby swing in the closet and pulled it out to set Sachiko inside. Sachiko clapped her hands and burped in response. Ranma only hoped that meant she'd been in it before, and that she liked it.

"Now what?" Ranma said aloud.

Now, possibly, consider what to do for dinner. Ranma opened the fridge and gazed around. She could practically see the tumbleweed rolling from one empty end to the other. "Hn. Hey, kiddo. Wanna go shopping?"

-

Ranma had done her best to find the old shopping district, but it had been taken over by novelty and hobby shops. Inquiring around, she finally managed to locate something called a 'superstore'. Peering inside revealed far more than just food.

"C'mon, Sachiko," Ranma said needlessly, grabbing a cart and moving inside. She was almost certain she saw lettuce somewhere off to the right. She found enough leafy greens to feed all of Japan. "Superstore. What a dumb idea," she decided, grabbing a head of cabbage and pushing the cart to the carrot aisle.

"Ranma!"

Ranma turned to face a woman in her twenties with one baby on her hip and a three or four year old at her side. She didn't recognize the woman at all. "Hiii," she managed with a strained smile.

"I thought you said you were never going to shop here again as long as you lived," the woman accused.

Ranma gulped. "Yeah, well... you know." She hoped the woman did.

It was Ranma's lucky day. "Yes, it's just so much more convenient. You just can't pick up supper, a jumper for the kids, and a can of bug spray anyplace else, can you?"

Ranma had to admit that this was probably true.

"And how's Sachiko, hmm?"

Sachiko couldn't speak for herself yet, so Ranma had to assure her that, for all intents and purposes, Sachiko appeared to be doing quite well.

"I don't know about Ki, here," the woman went on, shifting the baby at her hip. "He's been crying a lot lately, and I think he's got diarrhea pretty bad."

Ranma blinked, noting that the baby had a slightly red complexion and a dissatisfied expression. Still, she hadn't expected to be treated to a list of Ki's digestive complaints in the middle of the store in broad daylight. So far as she knew, people didn't talk about diarrhea. "Uhhh..."

"I've been giving him lots of water to prevent the dehydration but... oh, you're so knowledgable, Ranma. What do you think?"

"You should go see the doctor," Ranma offered neutrally. "This can be very serious in babies." She wasn't really thinking much about it; she was wondering how soon and by what means she could escape having the rest of this conversation.

"You're probably right. I'll go see Tendo-san the moment she has time."

"Tendo-san?"

The woman nodded. "Your oldest sister. Are you feeling all right, yourself, Ranma-chan?"

Ranma flushed. "Uhh... no, I'm a little under the weather, and I'm distracted. I'm wondering what I should make tonight."

"Oh, make your stir-fry, it's always so good," the woman enthused.

Ranma nodded. "Thanks a lot." She eased away with Sachiko, searching for some soy sauce.

-

Once Ranma got home, it was time to feed Sachiko her snack. Ranma had a bad feeling about all of this, so she donned an apron before setting to work.

It turned out to be a good idea. Sachiko seemed to think that throwing food was at least as fun as eating it, and making her eat was like trying to convince Shampoo to be patient or Kuno to be sane. Ranma resorted to making train noises, which did seem to work.

"Here comes the choo-choo!" Ranma announced. _Someone has a camera,_ she thought tiredly. _I _know_ someone has a camera._ "Here it comes!"

Sachiko opened her mouth, let in the foul-smelling applesauce stuff, and offered her mother a rare smile.

Ranma grinned back. "Okay, so we like that game? Then we are _definitely_ playing that game. Here comes another one! Wiiiide goes the tunnel!"

It worked again. Sachiko giggled and clapped. She said something that sounded suspiciously like "'gain!" but Ranma was still convinced she was a little too young to be talking. It had to be her imagination.

"Choo choo!" Ranma announced. In about twenty more minutes, the baby food had disappeared.

That which wasn't currently attached to the walls, anyway. Ranma sighed, began cleaning the floor with a wet rag.

She quickly learned her mistake when a big chunk of applesauce-stuff landed in her hair from above. A small giggle quickly followed.

_No, no, clean the baby _first

Once the baby and the kitchen looked decent, Ranma decided it was time to relax for a little while. She headed up to the bath, dragging Sachiko with her.

Ranma splashed the cold water over her own head as she held the baby.

Sachiko began to scream.

_Uh oh_. "Uhmmm... don't cry like that, honey, there's warm water right there!"

Ranma soaped the kid up rapidly, then herself. Rather than rinse again, she submerged herself and Sachiko quickly into the water.

Ranma leaned back against the ceramic tub with a sigh as her body stubbornly refused to revert back to male.

Sachiko, on the other hand, seemed to find the warm water soothing; she was asleep on Ranma's shoulder after the first two or three minutes.

-

Ranma was in the middle of cooking when Ryoga opened the door.

"Hi," he said, his voice strained.

"Bad day at work, honey?" she inquired waspishly.

"Uh, no, it's just that –"

Another man came in after Ryoga. He wore glasses, and a very obvious rug. "Sorry for disturbing you!" he announced, removing his shoes and stepping out of the genkan.

"Oh! Guests!" Ranma turned rapidly back to the stir-fry, shifting it around in the pan. _I'll kill him_, she thought. _Ryoga, darling, you are _dead

-

Author's Notes:

-

To answer a particular question, no, Ranma-past and Ranma-present aren't going to merge and make peace or anything nice and direct like that. Too simple.

It's cool that a lot of people are already asking the right questions and pointing out inconsistencies. Sometimes those types of things are there on purpose, and sometimes by accident. Like a lot of my stories, this is going to have a weird, funky ending. Wait it out.

As far as flames go, bring 'em on! If they can prompt these discussions, they can come visit me any day of the week. Glad everyone's alive out there; keep reading, keep reviewing, and keep playing in the universe R. Takahashi has so generously created!


	6. Advice From a Tendo

At your request, a recap of the events in this timeline:

Ranma and Ryoga were fighting as usual, when Ranma hit his head on a rock in the koi pond. Ryoga thought he had caught Ranma's hand to prevent the fall, which looked nasty, but that was not the case.

Ryoga, despondent because of Akane's ire, visited Ranma. Once Ranma woke up, she babbled seemingly incoherently, then kissed him in full view of Nabiki. Because of some quick thinking and a lot of luck, Ryoga managed to keep this a secret from all but Nabiki and Ukyo. The last thing he wants is Akane to know anything about this!

Nabiki observed that Ranma is very different from the Ranma she knows and l-... well, okay... tolerates... when she talked to Ranma that night.

Ranma taunted Kuno in new and ingenious ways, namely with his hair. (Don't ask, just read.)

Akane noticed the alteration in Ranma as well, calling this new Ranma 'sneaky', or maybe it's that he's more mature?

* * *

CHAPTER SIX: 1998

When Akane saw that they were passing through the park, her worries began. When they reached the door to the Cat Cafe, they multiplied.

"Hang tight, Akane," Ranma said. "I gotta ask Cologne something. Do you wanna come in, or wait out here?"

Akane hovered nervously. Inside, she could see Shampoo sweeping the floor; several customers were placidly sipping soup and dining on Chinese delicacies.

Akane reflected back to her last encounter with Shampoo. It had been humiliating, to say the least. Not only had Shampoo denigrated her and her family with her insults, but she denigrated all weak, stupid Japanese women, followed closely by all of Japan. Akane just had to take it; Shampoo had a very good and painful lock on her at the time. The youngest Tendo daughter, while ecstatic to have trained with her fiance in the morning, had no illusions about its instantaneous effect on her abilities.

"Er... I'll just stay out here," she finally replied. "Unless... it's what a friend would do?"

Ranma smiled at her and placed a gentle hand atop Akane's head, for all the world like he was a teacher and Akane was a slow pupil who'd finally caught on. "You're a sweetheart, Akane. You don't have to, though. There are a couple of shops you could look at, or something." Ranma disappeared into the Nekohanten with a smile and a jaunty wave.

Akane flushed, first from anger and then from embarrassment. _I'm a sweetheart?_ She paced back and forth, not quite knowing what she wanted to do. Something felt wrong about leaving Ranma alone at this time; but she also didn't want to get trounced, which was undoubtedly what would happen if she entered the cafe. She settled for peering through the windows by some convenient hedges.

As Akane watched, Cologne and Shampoo were having some kind of heated discussion. Eventually, Shampoo nodded submissively and headed up the stairs, presumably to her room. Akane blinked. For some reason, Ranma didn't want Shampoo to hear the question he had for Cologne, or Cologne didn't want her great-granddaughter to hear it.

_He didn't have a problem with _my_ being there..._ Akane thought speculatively. _I wonder why?_

Several minutes passed by, with Ranma speaking, Cologne looking surprised, confused, and grim by turns. Although Akane crouched very close to the glass window, she could not hear a word that either of them were saying. She began to wish she'd followed her erstwhile-fiancee into the Neko, but was too embarrassed to come in now. For a minute, she stood by the door, her hand pressed against the wood.

All of a sudden, the sound returned to the scene before Akane; but all she saw was Cologne laughing as hard as she'd ever seen the old woman laugh, looking like she was about to fall off of that stick of hers. Ranma, by contrast, was waiting with a long-suffering patience. Whatever the joke was, Ranma didn't seem to appreciate it.

"So that's it," Cologne said, finally regaining her legendary poise. "If it weren't so completely out of character, I'd swear you must be joking."

"Gee, thanks," Ranma said, with all appearance of sincerely. "You make me feel ever so much better about the whole business."

A moment or two later, Ranma emerged and moved unerringly for where Akane was crouched in the bushes. "Hiya," he said gently.

Akane jumped. "Well... h-how'd you do that, anyway? I only heard the tail end of that conversation..."

"I used my chi to put a dampener around myself and the old ghoul," Ranma replied casually. "It worked like soundproofing. Even people at the next table couldn't hear us. Sorry."

Akane shrugged uncomfortably. "Don't apologize to me because I couldn't eavesdrop on you well enough. Did... did talking to her help?"

"All she said was that I should get Nabiki to help me, that I needed someone devious and inexperienced."

"Nabiki? But what can she do?"

"I dunno. But she's still the smartest person close enough to tell," Ranma replied.

"Hey!"

"No offense, Akane. She's smarter than me, too."

Akane subsided into grumbling. "Why do I feel like I'm following after you today? You keep doing these unexpected..." Akane's voice trailed off as she caught sight of a familiar figure. "Ryoga!"

Ranma froze. "Aw, shit," he moaned quietly.

Akane did not hear him. "I'm gonna go get that jerk for leaving us just when we needed help!" she cried, and took after the bandanna'd boy like a shot.

"Akane, no!" Ranma called.

It was too late. Akane had reached Ryoga; Ryoga was being led back to Ranma. The bandanna'd boy's posture was hunched and apologetic as Akane obviously was berating him the moment he'd appeared.

"Ranma," Ryoga greeted cautiously.

Ranma's body untensed. "Yeah, hi," he replied morosely, surrendering himself to the chaos that was indubitably about to ensue.

Akane blinked, glancing back and forth between the two boys. She wasn't the best judge of mood, but she wasn't blind, either. "Did something happen?"

Ryoga shook his head wildly. "N-no. Nothing! Nothing whatsover happened! _Right, Ranma?_"

Ranma's eyebrows lifted. "Uh... oookay."

"What the hell is up with the hair?" Ryoga demanded, suddenly catching sight of Ranma's long, flowing locks.

"Geez!" Ranma exclaimed. "It ain't _that_ big a deal. Give me that knife you keep in your pack."

"The knife I...?"

Ranma had already moved behind Ryoga, and was sorting through the Lost Boy's ever-present pack, tossing things left and right.

"Wait. Huh?" Ryoga demanded, attempting to twist around to see what Ranma was doing behind him. Since Ranma was reaching into Ryoga's pack, the pair danced entertainingly enough to make Akane forget their troubles for just a moment and grin.

"Ah ha!" Ranma announced, after removing a spare umbrella, a coat rack, a leisure suit and a rubber duck. He flicked open a medium-sized bright silver blade, decisively grabbed his long hair in one hand, and pulled.

"Ranma!" Akane exclaimed, but before she could move – or decide what she was going to do once she reached the long-haired martial artist – Ranma was holding a long, streaming mass of shiny, black hair in one hand.

"Whew! That's much better," Ranma announced, running his hands through his now-short hair to release the curl. "Hmm, I kinda like how it feels. Maybe I'll keep it this way."

Ranma handed the blade back to Ryoga. "Thanks."

By now, Ryoga had realized that there was something wrong with the normally-pigtailed martial artist. "Uhh..." he murmured. "No... no problem." Staring openly at the other boy, Ryoga tucked all the items back into his pack.

"Wow, Ryoga," Akane breathed. "I didn't know you could do that. Sort of like Mousse..."

"And you, with that mallet," Ranma tacked on, sticking his tongue out at the youngest Tendo.

"Ranma, don't treat Akane like that!" Ryoga ordered automatically.

"Akane knows I'm just teasing her," Ranma defended, wrapping a casual arm around Akane's waist. "You _do_ know that, right, Akane?"

Akane nodded dumbly, flushing bright red.

"The way I tease you," Ranma tacked on, turning his attention to the Lost Boy. "That's how I'm friendly with folks, you know?"

"That's how you're... what!" Ryoga demanded.

"Friends," Ranma repeated gamely. "You know... _friend..._" he drawled slowly. "Like when two people have fun hanging around each other..."

Ryoga hit him in the back of the head. "I know what the _word_ means... fool."

"See?" Ranma inquired cheerfully. "You do it the same way!"

Akane viewed the exchange with a growing smile. "So you two are finally admitting it!"

"Admitting what?" Ryoga wanted to know. He had a very confused expression on his face.

"That you're best friends!" Akane added with a giggle.

Ryoga's face drained of color. "Ranma and I aren't _any_ kind of friends! We're... we're worse off than strangers!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ranma snapped. "If you won't even admit _that_ much, I don't know what I'm doing talking to you." He tugged on Akane's waist. "C'mon, Akane."

The two made brief progress, Akane looking back at him with an apologetic expression on her face, before Ryoga caught up to them.

"I... I c-can't let Akane-san walk home with the likes of you for company," Ryoga stammered.

"Whatever floats your boat, pig-boy," Ranma tossed condescendingly over his shoulder.

When Ryoga looked up to retort, Ranma wiggled his eyebrows in Ryoga's direction in a way that was teasing/suggestive.

Despite Ryoga's lack of experience in these matters, he managed to catch the implication right away. To his surprise, he felt his face heat, and he almost fell over just putting one foot in front of the other. What the hell was Ranma thinking?

After he'd become more conscious of the world around him, Ryoga had decided that Ranma's... initial reaction to him had been the result of Ranma's having a vivid dream due to being knocked on the head. Akane had once told him, in the strictest confidence, that Ranma had more than one screaming nightmare about falling in love or being bound to some man – usually Tatewaki Kuno, but that didn't mean there hadn't ever been one about him.

Come to think of it, there had probably been several.

What had pained him most at the time was the fact that he couldn't use this against his rival; Akane had made him swear again and again to never repeat what he'd heard. He had to respect her wishes.

Now he began to seriously wonder, head knock aside, if he'd ever really been right to try treating Ranma just like any other guy. Ranma had a girl's body half the time. Half the time! Although it wasn't like Ryoga's curse made him part-pig, or anything, perhaps it was all in how you were treated: he knew he'd been influenced by becoming Akane's pet, for example. He knew he worshipped the ground she walked on, and also knew it wasn't all about the way she paid attention to him like most girls didn't. It was inextricably wound about being her pet whenever he saw her, subservient, small, but beloved. Even as a man, he was stuck in this pattern with Akane.

Ranma certainly had been spending a great deal of the past nine months as a girl. People had to have been treating him like a girl part of the time, too, then. Part of Ranma might always be a girl, even if he were cured today, the same way part of Ryoga would always belong to Akane in that same small, subservient way.

So treating Ranma like any other guy wasn't just stupid, it verged on dangerously stupid. While he wasn't about to start buying Ranma chocolates and roses to give to Ranma's girl form like Kuno (the jerk!) he knew he couldn't treat Ranma quite the same ever again. It could even be that the whole... -gulp-... kissing debacle was because Ranma fought against his girl side so hard that any weakness released it...

_No... that can't be right... can it?_

"...and then they asked me to play a boy, believe it or not," Akane was saying to Ranma.

The martial artist snickered. "There's some priceless joke in there someplace," he replied.

"Aw, shuddup with the tomboy comments."

"I didn't say anything!"

"I know what you're thinking, Ranma. Anyway, they said I did a good job. A great job! They said if any girl had played a guy more convincingly they didn't know about it."

Ryoga watched Ranma cautiously, waiting for the insult.

Which never came. Ranma, to Ryoga's surprise, continued looking interested and faintly amused. "And? So what'd you say?"

Akane looked relieved, and a little surprised that he hadn't taken the bait. "I told him that they were wrong – that I knew a girl who acted the part of a boy _way_ better..."

Ranma threw back his head and laughed. "Okay, okay."

Akane's pleased and nervous little smile made Ryoga's heart drop into his toes. She really loved him, didn't she? His heart of glass was threatening to shatter.

"Ryoga," the object of his affection began, suddenly recalling his presence. "Why don't you stay for supper?"

The easy smile on Ranma's face faded for a moment before flickering back into place, slightly more forced than before.

Ryoga didn't notice. He'd whirled around to realize that they'd somehow reached the Tendo Dojo.

That was odd. He'd been certain that it was at least an hour from the school; he always wondered why the pair walked. "Uhh... sure. Far be it for me to turn down Kasumi's cooking," he managed.

Ranma's expression was bordering on bleak. "Sure," he said, with the best false smile he could muster. "Why not?"

* * *

Nabiki rolled over onto her stomach. It was always a good idea to let the pigtailed – er, ponytailed... wait a moment, where did that hair go? Never mind. It was always wise to let Ranma get a good view. It distracted him, and she sensed with the acumen gained in over three hundred dirty deals over the years that he was there for business.

Ranma immediately slid to the floor. "Yo," he began.

"Hiya, Saotome." She grinned her best Tendo grin. "Mind telling me what you're playing at with my favorite sucker?" _Good girl, go on the offensive._

Ranma chuckled. "That's my business, isn't it?"

Nabiki's smile dropped off her face. "When it cuts into profits, it's my business," she replied, giving the word an entirely new meaning.

"Cuts into profits? Don't tell me he doesn't like Ranma or Ranma-chan," Ranma stated with a hint of inquiry in his voice.

"Nooo," Nabiki drawled. "He wants a group shot."

"So doctor it!" Ranma ordered impatiently. "I know you can."

"The point is that you interfered," Nabiki growled, "in a business transaction of mine. I won't have it. In case you missed it, a house is expensive to run, and..."

"I won't buy it," Ranma murmured.

"Huh?"

"It may be expensive to run a house; that may be how this started. But... even if we were suddenly to become as rich as the Kunos themselves, you'd keep on blackmailing and manipulating. You just _like _it."

Nabiki paled. "What!" _Point, Saotome,_ she acknowledged begrudgingly, even if only to herself.

"Eh, you heard me. Whatever, there ain't nothing I can do about your turn-ons, Nabiki."

Nabiki blinked. Somehow – especially seeing how thrown Ranma had been the day before – she expected this new Ranma to be no less canny in business than the old.

"Besides all that, I came to ask you a favor."

"A... a what!"

"A favor," Ranma repeated. "A deal, if you wanna put it that way."

"Does this have anything to do with that kiss you gave Ryoga?" Nabiki wanted to know. She was determined to make money off of that _somehow_.

"Sort of," Ranma replied cautiously. "I need your help, but I need you to keep very, _very_ quiet about it."

Nabiki frowned. "Not a chance. You want to tell me something, expect me to use it."

Ranma grinned. "I did mention a deal."

"Yeah. And?" Nabiki did her best to appear utterly uninterested, rotating her hand on her wrist in a _well, get on with it, time is money_ motion.

Ranma ran his hands through his short hair. "And I'll owe you."

"You'll owe me?" Nabiki echoed with a faint frown.

"That's right. I'll owe you one favor, anything you like."

Nabiki's face seemed to lose all warmth and color. "Anything...?"

"With a couple of provisos, of course," Ranma tacked on, almost as an afterthought. "No nude shots."

Nabiki blinked. "How do you know I want pictures?"

"That's what you always want."

"I've never taken nude pictures of you, Ranma."

"There's no reason to start, then," Ranma countered rapidly.

"Three favors," Nabiki replied, holding up three fingers. "I mean, pictures are one thing, but what about if I get in a tight spot at school? It could be useful to have you on my side..."

"Two favors," Ranma said.

"You're killing me here, Ranma..."

"Two favors or I'll have to resort to my ace-in-the-hole, Nabiki."

Nabiki smiled. "I'm pleasantly surprised, Ranma. You're being so... _professional..._ about all of this."

"I learned from the best."

Nabiki's smile widened. "Well, now. I must admit my curiosity concerning your ace, but I'll fold for today. Now – what is it you want to discuss? It's Akane, isn't it?" She manufactured a sympathetic smile, her question more of a statement. No matter what Ranma said, his problems always came down to one thing: women.

"Where can we go where there aren't any cameras or tape recorders? You're mine for the next hour or two," Ranma replied flatly.

Nabiki shivered, beginning to believe for the first time that not only had Ranma come back different; he had come back _dangerous_. She swatted the thought away; Ranma was Ranma, harmless as ever. "We... could see if we can't find the park..."

"Too public. There's always the chance that someone I know might hear us. This is a private matter."

Nabiki stared at him, at his dark, intense eyes, a small frown on her face. "Ranma..."

"I've got an idea," he said suddenly, his brows lifting, looking almost normal for a moment.

Something in Nabiki quietly relaxed as the stormclouds on his face lifted. She'd never been worried about teasing Akane's fiance, before. After all, he was a patsy – useful for fighting and sometimes for making her little sister feel good, but not much else. So far as Nabiki was concerned, he was far more trouble than he was worth, and it was up to her to balance the ledger a little by exortion and minor torture. Being unsure of what Ranma would do next was like waking up one day to wonder what color the sky was. He'd been a determined quantity for so long that any alteration was off-putting.

Ranma nodded resolutely to himself, obviously making a decision. He stood, grabbed Nabiki's wrist and pulled her to him. Putting a silent finger to his lips, he scopped her up in his arms.

Nabiki blinked. "Um..."

Ranma opened the window and braced himself on the sill.

"...Ranma...?"

"Eeeee!" Nabiki exclaimed as Ranma swung himself up onto the roof. "What _are_ you, an ape!"

"I told you to shush!" Ranma reiterated. "It's Saturday, isn't it?"

"Yes." Nabiki had regained her cool rapidly. "I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"If it's Saturday around dinnertime, no one should be at Furinkan, with the exception of the staff and perhaps the Principal..."

Nabiki nodded, but before she could open her mouth, he was off, leaping from building to building with her snugly in his arms. She buried her face into his shirt; no matter how many times he'd done this, she never quite got used to it. She'd seen Akane in a similar position, but the dark-haired girl seemed to enjoy it, or at least tolerate it; and the times when she _did_ scream seemed mostly for show.

Nabiki didn't like leaping around in someone else's arms – the tug of gravity, the sudden stops, the feeling of the world trying to drag you back down every time. She also didn't like to have to rely on Ranma, and she didn't like not being in control of where she was going.

A small, funny thought occurred to her: perhaps, if she could steer Ranma like the horse he was named for, this wouldn't be so... traumatic.

When Ranma finally set her back on solid ground, she was still giggling slightly at the thought. Ranma patted her comfortingly on the shoulder, and she opened her eyes.

"Ahh." They were standing on the roof of one of the towers of Furinkan. She hadn't been here for a long while. She liked coming in the early spring, when it was nice enough to hang out but not warm enough to draw the sunbathers. Right now, with school out, it was truly a fine and private place.

Ranma had surprised her so much that she didn't have any of her recording equipment on her. It was all tucked safely away in her bedroom. She wanted to stamp her foot in a fit of pique, but that just wasn't her style. Nabiki observed the roof, nodded thoughtfully, and turned to frown at her abductor.

Ranma had moved to the railing that separated the edge of the roof from the plain air. He was gazing blankly out at the city, a small, faraway smile on his face.

The view was good, Nabiki admitted, striding a bit closer to take a look. The sun was low in the sky, already turning it to a warm pink. A flock of large birds, gulls maybe, winged their way across the sky. If Nabiki had been the susceptible type, she would have fallen under the spell of Ranma's strangeness, his dark and unpredictable moods, in such an atmosphere; she could feel a pull to him, one she'd never noticed before. This new Ranma was someone she could fall for. She decided then and there not to let it happen, for a variety of reasons.

Nabiki watched Ranma's eyes cloud. Yes – she definitely wanted to comfort him, ease that expression off of his face – even pull him away from the ledge. She'd never seen him despair before. Then she remembered what he'd done to get her here and her resolve returned with ease. "All right then, out with it. You're not Ranma. Who are you?"

"Don't be stupid," he retorted harshly, glancing back at her with a frown, the dreamy sorrow fleeing from his features. "Of course I'm Ranma. I just..."

"You're some version of Ranma. Some Ranma from elsewhere?"

Ranma tilted his head to one side in consideration, as if pondering whether this was an accurate description of him. "In a way. That, or I'm your Ranma, and I've smashed my head open one too many times. For all I know, this is a grand illusion." He gestured out over the city with one, sweeping arm, his eyes flickering to Nabiki and away again so rapidly that the open gesture seemed both forced and wasted.

Nabiki's brow furrowed as she realized that for once, Saotome Ranma was genuinely serious. "Grand illusion?"

Ranma nodded. "Yes; there's always the possibility that I'm simply dreaming the whole business from my contusion. It's _all_ unreal. I could push you off the roof and it wouldn't make a difference..."

The middle Tendo daughter froze for a split second, her mind racing as she realized she was alone atop a deserted building with an unstoppable martial artist who was quietly informing her he was going insane. What had possessed her to come with him? The lure of his favor, freely given? Why hadn't she noticed the smudges under his eyes, his stiff stance, his darting pupils, before? "Ranma..."

Ranma blinked at her in slow-dawning surprise, before smiling and barking a humorless laugh. "I'm sorry, Nabiki. I wouldn't throw you off the building. What if this is real? Where would that put the both of us? Besides, I wouldn't want to kill you, even in a dream. It would be... it would be unpleasant." He was smiling at her now, gently, but still in a way that Nabiki classified as not-quite-all-there. His words were meant to put her at ease, but they had the opposite effect. The more he talked about things not being real, the more convinced Nabiki became about his unstable state of mind.

"What would make you think this is a dream, Ranma?"

Ranma considered her question carefully. "I don't know. It all seems so much like a memory. Sometimes we dream what we remember. I've dreamed about the second failed wedding attempt many times, and–"

"The what?"

The short-haired martial artist blinked at Nabiki. "There was the first wedding attempt, then another. I dream about them both all of the time, especially the second one. But it's a memory; the past. That seems to be what this is."

"What what is?"

"This," Ranma replied, making another grand gesture, one which took in the city, the building – and Nabiki herself.

"Wait just one minute," Nabiki began. "You mean _everything_ here is a construct – including me? I just represent some abstract concept in somebody's dream? I mean, I have my own thoughts, and feelings, never mind that everyone calls me the Ice Queen – they still _exist_. Cogito ergo sum, and all of that." This conversation had begun to take on dreamlike qualities to the middle Tendo daughter. _Imagine, debating my very existence! _

"And if all you say is just an expression of my memory of you?" Ranma rocked on his heels, calmly awaiting her answer.

Nabiki frowned, but she was still far more in her element, discussing things rationally or arguing them out. "So what, so I'm an expression of your logical side?" She smirked. "We've already proven we're not in a dream, Ranma, as you don't have one."

"Clever quips won't work here, Nabiki," Ranma admonished gently. "For all I know, that was an expression of my subconscious trying to keep me here until I've worked out whatever I'm meant to work out."

Nabiki's logic immediately moved to counter him. "Ah! Ask me a question – one where you don't know the answer. Something – something provable... like... like how old my mother was when she died."

"Provable here? That proves nothing; not to me."

Nabiki growled. "Look, there are things that are real, that are provable with only logic, that you don't know yet. I'd stake my life on that." She gulped then, trying to forget Ranma's earlier comments about roofs. "If I can talk to you about one of those things, you'll know I'm real, and that street is real, and this roof is real... although why you're questioning that in the first place, other than for an existential lark, is more than I understand..."

Ranma took a deep but shaky breath. "Sorry. I'm going about this in totally the wrong way. I should have told you at first or not at all, but I need the help. And I'm terrified."

The fact that he was willing to state this, and to her, brought Nabiki crashing back to earth from her intellectual musings. "You said it might be a dream because it's like a memory?"

Ranma turned to face her, nodding carefully. "I know a lot about you. And Akane, really, and Kasumi. And Ryoga," he tacked on, and a note entered his voice which Nabiki didn't quite recognize. "And Kuno, too." He scratched the back of his neck anxiously. "I know more about everyone than I did yesterday, from one point of view. Far more."

"Anyone else you wanna mention?" Nabiki inquired ascerbically.

"No. Those are the people I know best," he admitted. "I know everything about you girls. I know you the best."

"Me?" Nabiki felt her face flush a bit, and her eyes skittered away from his. "Why would you know the most about me?"

"Akane's away most of the time; Kasumi's always busy." His blue eyes briefly met hers before easing away again. "You stuck around."

"Away? I don't understand," Nabiki said. Actually, she thought she _was_ beginning to understand, but the thought that was coming to her stress-beleaugered brain was both too unlikely and too crazy...

"Know Kuno pretty good too," Ranma added, "for the same reason. He's always around, whether you want him to be or not."

Nabiki blinked. "That's always true."

"But more true as time goes on."

"More true?" Nabiki repeated slowly. "What are you telling me here, Ranma? That you know what's going to happen? That you see the future?" She tossed her head, tsking in amazed derision. "Right, then. Tell me who to bet on in the races and I'll make you a billionaire."

Ranma frowned at her. "It's not like that, Nabiki. I don't _tell the future_, or anything. I'm not a prognosticator. I've seen my own life. Just... just my own."

Nabiki's brows raised slightly, her mind racing for what to say or do next. For the first time in a long time, it was blank; or, rather, too full to draw anything coherent from the mix. _He's crazy. No, not crazy, he's behaving a little weird, that's all. So he's functional. What would make him develop such a delusion? What if it's not a delusion? Assuming it's not, what's really happened, here?_

Nabiki swallowed as she caught his dark blue eyes. He was waiting; waiting for her reaction and her answer. _He doesn't expect me to somehow _solve_ all of this, does he?_

She did know a way to test his delusion. People could only create worlds in their mind to a certain degree. If she asked questions that were specific enough, it might break through to him, tell him that what was real was right in front of him.

"So how's my father in the future, Ranma? Doing well, I hope?"

"Gone. Said he went to look for the cure, but I doubt it. You three were pretty pissed at him, and so was I."

Nabiki shook her head; the answer was vague, but maybe the question hadn't been specific enough. "When'd he run off, then?"

"Right after the second failed wedding, of course," Ranma replied dreamily, his gaze distant and slightly bitter. "Just when we needed him most."

"What did _your_ father say about being left in charge of the house?"

"Pops?" Ranma snorted, his eyes focusing immediately on Nabiki, brought back to the present by surprise. "_You_ were left in charge of the house. D'you think your dad would even _think_ of letting Pops take over your home? He'd have sold Akane's virginity and begun to rent out the dojo and maybe spent all your savings on one big sake-binge. You must be joking."

While Nabiki had to agree, she still had a question, maybe specific enough to cut through this strange dream of Ranma's. "I took over the household?" she inquired sweetly.

Ranma nodded absently.

"What about Kasumi?"

The dark-haired boy blinked at her for a moment, amazed. "Well..."

"Or even Akane. You'd think they'd trust Akane more than a shark like me."

Ranma's eyes softened. "You're more trustworthy than you let on. Anyway, Kasumi and Akane were both occupied at the time. Kasumi... well, it's still her secret, so I can't say much right now, but she was out of the house a lot. Akane got a job with an acting troupe the year before, and she was always traveling around. Saw her once in Twelfth Night – she got one of the lead roles and brought down the house."

Nabiki felt herself begin to doubt. Ranma was not this good a liar. He was not. She knew him, knew he would not even consider trying to fool her... he really believed all of this.

And it was specific, down to the name of a play her sister supposedly starred in.

"Which role?" she inquired.

"Olivia," he replied, frowning at her. "Why are you asking me all of this, Nabiki? Are you calculating the likelihood of these events? Honestly, it's not like you've got a computer for a brain. There's no way this can help either of us."

"How can you be sure that's not all a dream?" Nabiki demanded.

"Ah, and now we're back where we started. I can't. I can't tell this isn't, either."

Nabiki's eyebrows lifted and her face relaxed. "Oh. I have an idea." She smiled gleefully at Ranma and punched him in the gut.

The dark-haired boy's brooding expression smashed into a thousand pieces as he hunched over in pain.

When Ranma stayed down, Nabiki approached him in amazement, putting a careful hand on his shoulder. "Ranma, I didn't mean to hit you _that_ hard..."

After a moment, Nabiki realized that the strange, strangled noises he was making were helpless giggles.

"Why... didn't... I think of that?" Ranma demanded. When he rose to wipe a tear from his eye, he was grinning at the dark-haired girl, a rueful grin that looked a lot like the one she remembered. "Thank you, Nabiki."

Nabiki returned the smile. "No one's ever thanked me for hitting them, before." She huffed with false exasperation. "You can pay me later. But now you know this, in any case, isn't a dream. As for the other... I have no way of telling, Ranma. You may have to wait around to find out, to see if anything you've dreamed comes true."

Ranma nodded solemnly, but his lips were still twitching with humor, and he was shaking his head at his own foolishness.

"Maybe I'll notice something you don't, Ranma. Why don't you tell me everything you know about this new world of yours? What about Ukyo, for example?"

Ranma flushed. "Uh, well... she still has the restaurant, if that's what you mean."

"More, Ranma. I need more than that."

Ranma gulped, suddenly completing his transformation back to the Ranma of yore. A small sweatdrop decorated him.

"Ehhhh?"

Ranma sighed. "Okay, okay. Ukyo and Akane seem to be seeing one another. Both of them deny it's anything serious, but c'mon. They've known one another since they were kids. What is it now, seven years? They can't pretend that they'd enter into something like that so lightly. 'Friends with benefits' my ass..."

Nabiki tried her best not to stare. "Excuse me?" She cracked her knuckles, an old habit of hers that she thought she'd abandoned in junior high. "By 'seeing one another', you mean...?"

Ranma grinned wryly at her. "Who thought you'd be such an innocent, Nabiki? I'll tease you once..." He deflated suddenly. "If... if I ever get back."

"You're allowing this to happen!" Nabiki demanded, leaning on her hands to face him. "She's your wife!"

Ranma blinked. "You're talking in present tense, Nabiki. You believe me?" He grinned, the new grin, the false one. "That's nice. But she's not my wife. Never was." He held up one hand in apology, the other scratching behind his neck. "Sorry. After the second failed wedding, I told her it just wasn't... wasn't working out."

"Oh." Nabiki's shoulders drooped. "I always thought that the two of you would get it together, someday. I'm... I'm sorry, somehow." She sighed, feeling like Ranma's depression was beginning to effect her. "There's a whole history here, isn't there, Ranma?"

Ranma nodded. "Akane took it pretty good. She said she knew it and just like that things kind of relaxed between us. The romantic tension died."

For a long moment, Nabiki absorbed this. "I'm sorry, Ranma."

Another small smile broke out onto the pigtailed boy's face. "You don't have to keep apologizing, Nabiki. I've had a good life, up 'til now. Some of the insanity even seemed to be coming to an end. It's felt good these past couple years, just kind of _living_ for once instead of running all the time. Should've known it was probably too good to last."

Nabiki felt the strange urge to comfort him again, but he wasn't looking dejected or upset, despite his words. Ranma still had that strange, small smile on his face, like he'd enjoyed that life while it had lasted rather than mourned its passing. Paradoxically, it made her want to touch him even more. She clamped down on the desire. "So what has your life been like, then? Who else is important to you, and what do you know about them?"

"Well. There's Ryoga..."

Nabiki smiled. "Ah, I knew that something had to be up between you two. What about him?"

Ranma drew up short. "It's – well, he's..."

"Dead?" Nabiki could imagine that Ranma _might _kiss a friend, if he saw a friend he thought to be deceased. Especially while in his girl form – especially after being hit on the head.

"Not dead."

"Missing? Uh, seriously injured?" Nabiki got awful pictures of Ryoga living somewhere as a vegetable in a long-term care facility and shuddered.

"Nothing like that. Married."

"Married?"

"Married."

"Akane married the jerk!"

"No." Ranma closed his eyes tightly. "Me."

"I thought you said Akane _hadn't _married you," Nabiki cut in impatiently.

"He's married to me," Ranma repeated, his eyes still tightly shut.

"No he isn't," Nabiki said suddenly. She clapped a hand over her own mouth. That hadn't been what she thought she was going to say.

To her own surprise, Ranma's eyes met her own, and they were filled with humor. "A little... it's a little strange, isn't it?"

For a moment, Nabiki was silent. "So you... so...?"

Ranma shrugged. "Just kind of happened. First we weren't exactly enemies. Then, for awhile, we were friends. I started noticing he treated me different when I was a girl. It started making me feel weird. Uncomfortable. It wasn't the way he treated Akane or anything... I don't know. It was... different.

"There was this one time when we were sparring, and he kissed me. I hit him. He yelled at me. I yelled back. For a long time after that, we didn't talk. Then he shows up three months later with this crazy look in his eyes and he says to me that he's gotta talk. Well... what am I supposed to do? I guessed I might've kissed him back, and if I'd done that even for a second, then I was at least partway to blame. So we talked for a long time, admitted we'd liked it, and tried it again."

"Where was Akane in all of this?" Nabiki demanded, finally finding her voice. "You were running around on my little sister! You're no better than Kuno!"

Ranma flushed. "I'd told Akane we weren't going to get married long before that."

The rooftop was silent for a moment as Nabiki absorbed this. Finally, she shook her head in consternation. "How long was it?"

"Six years," Ranma replied. "Or something like that."

"So you 'remember' the next six years," Nabiki repeated.

"That or dreamed them," Ranma replied quietly, "from a bump on the head..."

The implications began hitting Nabiki one after the other, each with the force of a physical blow. Ranma felt like he'd _lived_ those six years. Could she imagine being married... apparently happily... and then waking up and having her husband hate her guts? In the dream, Ranma's admittedly confused sexual orientation had switched. In effect, he was now 'back in the closet'. He suddenly once more had four fiancees. He was still attending _high school_, when...

"Are you out of college?" Nabiki inquired absently.

"Uh huh."

...when he'd already been through undergrad! Akane was still in love with him.

Only, that could all have been a dream. Just yet another thing messing with Saotome Ranma's head. Which would mean that those six years he'd lived and loved were simply a hallucination induced by the very man who'd been the object of the dream.

That, or the far worse implication: that it was all true. That Ranma had somehow moved through time and was... trapped here.

In that case... where was sixteen year old Ranma?

Probably someplace beating up her concerned husband. Could that be true?

"Double major art/phys ed.," Ranma continued just as absently. Obviously his mind was elsewhere, and the answer automatic from many years of having been asked that very question.

"What... what about the agreement?" Nabiki finally whispered, reaching desperately for something to say. "Between our families?"

Ranma's expression once more grew faraway, and he took a deep, strengthening breath. "Maybe it was selfish of me an' Ryoga to disappoint all of my fiancees, but we were young and stupid. And, besides, after all the ways Dad'd bent honor to suit him, I wanted nothing to do with his version of it: marrying somebody I didn't love just so I could say I had a good name. Honor isn't always right, Nabiki, and it isn't always fair." His eyes met hers. "Is it?"

Nabiki felt like the rabbit caught in the eye of a hawk. She wondered how much Ranma knew about her own personal struggle with honor; her attempts to balance integrity with necessity left her shaken, especially when she took pleasure into account as well. Ranma was right; she _liked_ those shakedowns, the scams. When they worked well, it was like poetry or fast music, it moved through her and left her feeling heady and brilliant, a step ahead of the rest of the world. Maybe a step above.

Nabiki scrambled around in her mind for something pertinent to say. Something he'd want to hear, something to make him forget this line of questioning. "There's another possibility you haven't considered, you know. You could have developed some kind of telepathy or precognition from the bump."

"You think?"

Nabiki, who had anticipated having to explain those two terms, was brought up short. "Could be."

"So do you swear on your honor you won't utter a word about this to anybody?" Ranma demanded.

_There's that word again_, Nabiki pondered quietly. But her honor still meant something to her, even if it didn't to Ranma; then again, when had Ranma ever staked his personal honor on marrying her little sister? Not once. In fact, he'd gone out of his way, along with Akane herself, to point out that it was their parents' idea they even be engaged. Perhaps Genma had dragged the family name through the mud so often that Ranma didn't count so much on its worth.

Nabiki sighed.

"If you're correct about all of this, you've got too much on me for me to betray you in any way, shape or form," she replied, "and you know it. I imagine you find out quite a bit about me in your supposed future?"

Ranma shrugged. "Yeah... including that thing you did on Halloween last year..."

All the color fled Nabiki's face. "Ranma... that was before you even arrived in Nerima. So I told it to you, huh?" She stared at Ranma. "That was your ace-in-the-hole! You jerk – you were going to _blackmail _me!"

"Turnabout's fair play," Ranma returned with a small smile tugging at his lips.

Nabiki gulped. "So it is real. Some of it's real. Because there's no way you could know that, Ranma..."

"I know that." He took in a deep breath, held it for a moment as he held some question in his mind. "I think I've known all along, in a way, that this is real and that is real and they both exist together, somehow..." Ranma shook his head. "Somehow I've traveled from there to here. But I don't understand. I wasn't doing anything special, just cleaning up Akane's old room because she was coming for a visit. I decided to nap awhile, but then I woke up here."

"No wonder you're acting so different," Nabiki said as gently as her voice ever became.

"Yeah, but I'm still no good at hiding anything. Even Akane said I was acting deceitful, like a sneak."

Nabiki blinked. "She picked up on that? If you hadn't been dropping so many hints, I wouldn't have caught on. If you'd just acted morose, I'd assume it was over Ryoga beating you. Just try and be _quiet_ a little more often. People might think you're upset, but it's better than discovery. Right?"

Ranma nodded morosely. "Absolutely right. I can just imagine a teenaged Ryoga's reaction to this one."

Nabiki took in a deep breath. "Heh. He might just kill you, Ranma."

"Or leave for good."

Nabiki frowned; she could make out a faint depressive aura around the dark-haired boy. "Ranma..."

Ranma looked down at himself and blinked in amazement. "Whoops." He closed his eyes and concentrated, his expression shifting to serene. "Better?"

Nabiki wasn't sure about _that_, but she couldn't see an aura anymore.

* * *

After Ranma had dropped Nabiki back at her room, he swung himself up to the dojo roof; it wasn't his usual spot, but maybe that was for the best. If nobody came looking for him, nobody would see him cursing himself creatively under his breath.

He was sure he trusted Nabiki. He was _sure!_ After all, he'd known her for almost seven years, a third of his time on the planet, and she'd been nothing but good to him – eventually, anyway, once she was certain that he was going to stick by her no matter what she did. Winning Nabiki's trust was difficult, but, once accomplished, worth every moment spent.

Only, he was back to square one. And he obviously didn't trust this Nabiki as much as he'd thought. He hadn't even arrived at the worst part of his tale.

The truth was that it was now slipping from him, leaving him, this memory of the future, piece by piece. As he'd told his story to the middle Tendo daughter, he was certain, absolutely _certain_ that the story about he and Ryoga becoming closer gradually was true. But after he'd finished speaking, the conviction had gripped him that he'd told her a blatant lie – he and Ryoga had become closer with an almost unnerving speed, like the affection between them had been there all along. That, more than anything, worried him, made him think he was simply losing his grip on reality. A stable future-vision was easy to understand; a shifting one, on the other hand...

He'd been in a deep depression when he'd fallen for Ryoga, except that he'd been perfectly happy at the time. He'd kissed Ryoga first, but Ryoga had first kissed him. He told Akane gently that he wasn't going to marry her at the second failed wedding; he told her long before then that he hated her guts and wished he'd never even met her. He'd bought and avidly read a book on causality, only... why had he bought it? What made it interesting, when all of this couldn't have happened yet?

Ranma's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Not... happened... yet. That's right. At first, the future didn't shift much. But now... now I've gone and... been nice to Akane and Ryoga. Told Cologne and Nabiki all about this. Messed with Kuno." He sighed, letting the air out of his pursed lips in a low whistle. "I see. No matter what I do, I can't act the same way as the old me. No matter what, things will change. And once they do, they will have always been that way, for me – they'll be in my past. Which means I'll remember them." He shook his head in consternation. "But which is which? Which one is the new future and which is the my original future?"

No matter how hard Ranma concentrated, the details of his life with Ryoga faded in and out like sound from a bad transistor.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Sorry for the wait; and sorry this one's so long.

So, what exactly _did_ Nabiki do on Halloween? Hmm, I know, but I'll let y'all use your imaginations. I'm sure you can come up with better than I. ;)

There really are far too many unpublished stories gathering dust in this computer... I really ought to fix them up and post them all. But I have to admit it: I hate editing when a fic is already through. Doing stories the way I do now really is perfect for me. I write the whole story (which usually goes thru a couple of drafts) and then I post the first chapter. As I go along, I always end up changing a great deal. This all has the effect of polishing as I go. Dredging up old stuff – no matter how entertaining the writing may be to me after so many years of leaving it alone – sucks. I can see all the flaws, and, in some cases, can't imagine what would set them aright.

To answer some particular questions: fuzzy causality! As if there's any other kind! ;) Actually, I spent a some time studying causality recently, both for the sake of this story and for a class I was giving. It's messy, nasty stuff, and quantum physicists still tend to disagree with one another. It's so young a science that I can almost do whatever I like and then say, "'cause quantum physics sez so!" Which turns out to come in handy...

And now here's your answer about the books. I wouldn't have listed them if they weren't significant. Although the Piers Anthony reference is more of a joke than anything else – read the book if you want to find out. Sometimes I think Anthony is a psuedonym for Takahashi...

TSAG status... hmm. How shall I say this? There's a big chunk of story that no longer has a home. I love that chunk. It's awesome. It may be – no, _is_ – the best stuff I've ever written, Ranma/original, whatever. And it no longer wants to click into the main storyline anymore.

Somebody shoot me.

If I leave that out (it's maybe three chapters) then all that's done is the first and second chapters. The first chapter opens up on Akane, still in Nerima – easy enough. But when we get to Ranma and Co. tramping through the mountains of Tibet, that's gonna get a little hairy... both for them and for me. I don't normally write action/adventure, and I don't yet know how to write evil. I'll get there, but it's going to take every bit as long as I said it would.

Probably once I hit the new school year (Sept. 1 or so) I'll release the first chapter, followed by one per month after that. That will allow me to keep my promise to limit it to a year while still having the time to tie up loose ends, if necessary.

Let's just hope it's not a trilogy, okay? ;)

K


	7. a Wedding and a Visitor

At your request, a recap of the events in this timeline:

Ranma and Ryoga were fighting as usual, when Ranma hit his head on a rock in the koi pond. Ranma thought Ryoga had caught his hand to prevent the fall, but that was not the case.

When Ranma awakens, she is in female form and asleep in Akane's bed. When she searches the Tendo house for someone to figure out what's going on, she discovers a completely different decor and a child.

Kuno arrives and informs Ranma that the child, Sachiko, is hers. Ranma assumes she's had the baby with Kuno at first. Once Kuno takes Ranma to Ucchan's, the two of them inform Ranma that she is now in her twenties and that it is 2004. Ranma passes out.

When Ranma reawakens, she is in Akane's bed again. Akane is there, and she finally convinces Ranma that what Ukyo and Kuno have said is the truth. Akane explains that Ranma went into a deep depression a long time ago; Ryoga was the only thing that brought her back. Ranma is now married to Ryoga; the baby is theirs.

Ranma panicks and runs off to Ukyo, but Ryoga manages to bring her back. Ryoga makes her promise not to bolt, for one week; Ranma makes him promise not to come after her once she does.

Ranma attempts to recall the past, and tries to figure out if she really is attracted to Ryoga. Both attempts fail.

Ranma comes across a letter from her father saying that he will return to Tokyo soon, then washes up. Ranma discovers several things, including: she will not change back to male in the hot water; being stuck as a girl is miserable, but being stuck as a guy all the time would also be miserable; how she appears isn't just her 'girl body' – it's _her_; and she understands, for the first time, that she and Ryoga have really been together in a sexual way.

Nabiki arrives with Sachiko, telling Ranma that her amnesia is probably due to a knock on the head, that she first started acting strange after a knock on the head when she was sixteen, and that she kissed Ryoga right after that injury. Ranma also suddenly recalls certain things about Sachiko, including the baby's age.

Ranma feeds the baby and is preparing dinner when Ryoga comes home – with a guest.

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN: 2004

Ranma glared daggers at Ryoga. "What the hell?"

"Uh, Ranma, this is my _boss_, Kenjiro Sanoguchi..."

Ranma peered over her shoulder, assessing the situation. "Your boss?" she inquired hesitantly.

"Uh _huh_."

Ranma turned to face them both, untying her apron and laying it across her arm. She bowed respectfully from the waist. "Pleased to meet you, sir." She offered the older man her cute-as-a-thousand-puppies grin, having made her decision. If she was playing the part of Ryoga's wife, she'd do it right.

Sanoguchi-san waved away her formality. "Likewise, likewise." He ribbed Ryoga. "Hey, Hibiki-kun, you never told me you had such a beautiful thing waiting at home!"

Ranma twitched, but the sweet smile she'd pasted across her features scarcely wavered.

"Uh..." Ryoga scrubbed the back of his neck furiously. "Er... let me introduce you to my daughter, Sachiko!" He swept the baby out of her automatic swing and bounced her, walking her to the older man.

Sachiko was obviously well-pleased to see her father. She burbled in child-like delight.

"She looks just like her mommy," the man commented, with an indulgent smile for the baby. "Where's your bathroom? I need to wash up after a hard day like today."

Ranma realized both men were staring at her, Sanoguchi-san's expression politely inquiring, Ryoga's verging on pleading.

"Oh!" Ranma exclaimed again. _Damn it, I'm beginning to sound like Kasumi. _"Ryoga, can you watch the stir-fry? I'll be right back. It's this way," she told the man, taking his arm and leading him upstairs. The moment that Sanoguchi-san had been safely deposited at the bathroom door, she ran back down the stairs and whirled to face Ryoga. "What do you think you're doing!" she demanded harshly, keeping her voice down to a loud whisper.

"I'm sorry, Ranma. This certainly isn't the best time, but he followed me home. There was no way I could politely refuse!"

"How about 'this certainly isn't the best time'!" Ranma demanded. "He would have understood."

"You don't know this man, Ranma. He spends every Friday evening having supper with one of his employees. If I said no..." He shook his head. "I could kiss the promotion goodbye."

Ranma opened her mouth to retort, when she noticed Sachiko gazing at her with wide, solemn eyes.

"Oh... she thinks we're arguing." Ranma reclaimed Sachiko, spinning her in a little circle. "I'm not upset, honey. It's okay."

Ryoga smiled at her. "Wow, Ranma," he said quietly, observing the way the redhead instantly calmed the small child with a grin and a couple of bounces in her arms.

"I even remembered how old she is when Nabiki dropped her off, today," Ranma replied, just as softly. "I definitely haven't remembered anything else, so handling her must be instinct."

"That's wonderful!" He moved to peer into the frying pan. "I hope that there's enough for all three of us."

"I'll just get a snack after supper," Ranma said, making faces at the baby. The small child giggled and clapped her hands.

"No, I will. It's my fault for bringing him home without calling you."

Ranma turned to glare at him. "I said that I would. If we're gonna look normal, you've gotta eat more than me. Besides, Sachiko's more of a handful than I thought, but you still worked harder than I did, today..." Ranma blinked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Ryoga flinched. "I didn't mean it to come out like that..."

Ranma shrugged, hefting the baby to avoid having to look at him. "Somehow, today, it struck me that she's ours – yours and mine. And that means..." She shook her head in consternation. "It means that I honestly loved you at some point." She sighed heavily, examining at him frankly and openly for the first time she could recall since arriving in this strange new universe called her life. "You didn't drag me, kicking and screaming, much as... much as I would like that to have been the case. Somebody would have stopped you, or tried – including me. Even if you'd used a love spell or something, Nabiki or Akane would have caught on." She dropped her gaze, finally, feeling tears catch in her throat. It was all true, everything Akane had told her – and that was painful, given the intensity of her inital objection.

He smiled at her wryly, unaware of her discomfort. "It's true. If your folks ever found _any_ excuse to prevent us from getting married, I'm guessing they would have used it."

Ranma issued a small, quiet laugh – and was surprised at herself that she'd gotten to the point where it was even a little funny. "When they couldn't find anything... other than the obvious... they couldn't protest and still call themselves family. Could they?"

Ryoga's concerned eyes met hers. "Something like that..."

Ranma nodded. "Since I can't remember, I'm going to have to rely on their judgement – and my own. So I can't just..." _treat my husband like crap_, she finished mentally. _That's not what wives do._ Ranma didn't like being someone's wife, but if she had to be, she wanted to be the best – of course. But she wasn't ready to say that, or anything remotely like that, aloud; not the 'w' word.

"I don't want to rush you," Ryoga replied quietly. "You don't know how happy that makes me, though. I... I miss you. Her." He laughed quietly. "It's a little confusing. Let's say I miss the way things used to be."

"Yeah." Ranma kissed the top of Sachiko's head. "You're the proof, aren't you, Sa-chan? The proof I need." She blinked up at Ryoga. "She _is_ yours, isn't she?"

Ryoga choked on air. "Ranma!"

"Hey, it's a fair question from someone in my position."

Ryoga's shellshocked expression dissipated into a knowing grin. "She sure is something, isn't she? She's going to look just like you when she grows up; it's hard to see much of me. Except for two little things."

Ranma frowned. "I don't get it."

Ryoga lifted his small daughter into his arms, then opened the little girl's mouth by presenting her his finger, which she immediately began to suckle. "Look."

Ranma's eyes widened. "She has two little fangs!"

Ryoga grinned, displaying his own. "Bingo." He eyed her. "You look beautiful, by the way. When did you get that shirt?"

Ranma pulled away. "Don't push your luck."

"Noted."

Ranma was once again taken aback by his playful attitude with her. She sighed. It was obvious that they _had _been happy together. It was almost depressing that she couldn't remember. She turned back to the stir-fry, shifting it rapidly above the flames, hiding her confusion.

"Ahhh, that's better!" Sanoguchi-san emerged into the kitchen. "When can we expect dinner?"

The redhead started, having completely forgotten about the older man's presence. "About fifteen minutes," Ranma replied. "W-why don't you two play a game of shogi or something while you wait?"

"Sounds like an excellent idea," the older man announced. "Why, I've been known to have a very good hand at shogi."

Ryoga rolled his eyes suggestively towards Ranma, who grinned at him and winked. _Do your best to lose_, she mouthed casually, opening the fridge to get the beef she'd just bought. If she could sear it and add it to the vegetables, they'd have enough.

Ranma set out an extra bowl and cup, doing her best to imitate Kasumi's style. She closed her eyes and pictured Kasumi's spread. Hmm, the eldest Tendo daughter usually placed some kind of small centerpiece on the table, even if it was only artfully-arranged willow branches. She slipped outside to the Tendo pond and began casting about for something to decorate the table.

_The 'Tendo' pond. But isn't it ours?_ she wondered. _Come to think of it, how did that happen? Why didn't Kasumi or Nabiki stay here? How'd it happen that I'm even teaching classes here?_ She found some pussywillow branches in soft bloom, and began snapping them off. _I'll bet the baby would like to play with these._ A new thought occurred to the redhead. _But she'll put them in her mouth. She puts everything there. Are they poisonous? Better watch her extra-careful._

Once inside, Ranma artfully arranged the branches in a vase full of water and set them on the table. She did her best to imitate Kasumi's gentle voice when she called the two men to dinner.

"It looks wonderful, Ranma," Ryoga said, seating himself across from her. Sanoguchi-san sat right next to the redhead, who did her best not to shift away.

Ranma abruptly recalled something else that Kasumi had done with guests, and began to serve the older man stir-fry and rice. She poured some hot sake into his cup and then served her husband. Finally, she piled some food onto her own plate, waiting until Ryoga's boss swallowed his first bite before slowly eating her own food.

Ryoga was watching her formal motions with bewilderment, but his boss nodded at him in approval. "You've got a real sweetheart, here, Ryoga," he informed the martial artist. "Don't let this one go."

"Uh, sure do." Ryoga's reply was perfunctory. "Ranma, I put the baby back in her crib," he added, his voice evincing far greater interest in this development. "She didn't seem to be hungry, so I figured better to let her sleep."

"Won't she wake up in the night?"

"She slept the night through the past week. She might be really hungry when she wakes up, but she should be okay."

Ranma nodded. "Okay. I'm new at this, you know."

"Your first kid, huh?" Sanoguchi-san queried. "I remember our first. Poor Noriko-chan was practically pulling her hair out."

Ryoga laughed. "Yeah, Sachiko's just beginning to settle down to a routine: usual eating habits, usual sleeping habits. Up until a month ago she was on her own schedule entirely. She had us going to bed at eight, waking up again at one, and then again at four-thirty. Ranma was great about it, though. She was really good-humored about the whole business." He offered Ranma a reminiscent grin, then shook himself.

_He's obviously remembered I don't remember._ "Yeah, those were the days," Ranma cut in dryly, covering his sudden surprise.

"The stir-fry is excellent," Ryoga added, something like apology in his voice.

"Needs salt," said Sanoguchi-san. Despite the older man's pronouncement, he was stuffing the food into his face as quickly as it would go.

Ryoga and his boss began to talk lightly about business, something about contracts that Ranma didn't really understand. Apparently, if someone's contract wasn't altered, they were going on strike? Possibly many someones. Ranma wasn't sure.

After a surprisingly short period of time, Sanoguchi-san's plate was empty. When Ryoga moved to serve him, he shook his head. "Thank you, I'm quite through. What about dessert, hmm? What are we having?"

Ranma racked her brains. What had she bought? "Uhm, ice cream."

The other man grunted in approval and handed the empty plate to Ranma.

"Oh. Do you want more?"

"No, I'm _done_," he replied.

Ranma stared at the plate in her hands. _What does he want me to do with_ this she wondered.

A small, thin cry sounded from upstairs. "The baby's awake after all," she observed. "I'll be right back." She rose, still carrying the plate, then dropped it off in the kitchen and headed up the stairs.

Inside Sachiko's room, the baby was wailing despondently. "Hey! Shhh..." Ranma scooped up the small child. "I thought it was a little too early for your bedtime! And I was right, wasn't I?"

Sachiko was still crying, but with far less intensity now that her tears had the intended effect of luring her mother to her room. "Wababaaa!" she intoned passionately.

"I see," Ranma replied. "Food? Dinner time? Is daddy a baka? Yes! Yes he is!"

The baby talk seemed to bring Sachiko the rest of the way out of her funk. "Baka!" she exclaimed with a small giggle.

Ranma stared at her in utter shock. "Didja just say what I think you said?"

"Baka!" Sachiko tried again.

"Yes, you're real clever!" Ranma announced. _Wonderful_.

"Bakabakabakabaka!"

"Geez, kiddo. We shoulda named you Akane, huh?"

Sachiko clapped her hands in delight at her own cleverness. "Baaaaaaka."

"I think we've exhausted the term." She carried the baby downstairs, tossing her up slightly and catching her. "Who's my smart girl?"

Ryoga grinned as Ranma carried Sachiko into the kitchen. "Has Sachiko learned something new?" he inquired.

"C'mon, Sa-chan. Try again!" Ranma urged.

Sachiko gazed at her father and blinked.

"Oh!" Ranma exclaimed in disappointed surprise. She'd been hoping to get a laugh. Then she was frustrated for sounding like Kasumi _again_. "She said a word upstairs. Oh, well."

"Well, I'm certain she'll say whatever it is when she's good and ready," Sanoguchi-san cut in. "And then you won't be able to stop her from talking! Just like a girl."

"Baka," Sachiko pronounced solemnly.

Ryoga's expression was just as stunned as Ranma had been hoping.

"Baka!" the baby repeated, getting into it.

"Maybe she's been hanging around Auntie Akane too long," Ranma opined. "Time to feed the kid. With mashed apples in her mouth, it'll be harder for her to talk."

Ryoga moved into the kitchen proper to hand the baby food to Ranma. "I'll serve the ice cream," he said in a low voice. "Dessert is less formal; he can't complain."

The rest of Sanoguchi-san's time was spent in the company of Ryoga alone, at the shogi table, for which Ranma was eternally grateful. "He doesn't like we girls, anyway, does he sweetie?"

"Baka!" Sachiko agreed. She made a grab for the softness of the pussywillows on the table.

"No, Sa-chan. But if you eat all your apples, maybe I'll give you a little ice cream. What do you think of that?"

Sachiko, who seemed to have grasped the meaning of the word 'baka' as well as its sound, did not repeat it at her mother. She grinned a little baby grin, showing off her pointed incisors.

"Right."

Sanoguchi-san made his way into the kitchen. "Sorry that I've got to leave you, Ranma-chan, but Noriko-chan is waiting."

"Oh, what a shame that you couldn't stay longer!" Ranma intoned, making her blue eyes wide. "Isn't that right, Sa-chan?"

"Baka!"

"She's a cute little thing," he answered, leaning over the tiny redheaded girl to pat her on the head, "but she'll be even cuter once she learns a new word."

Sachiko, who had been mournfully eyeing the pussywillows, caught sight of something new that was fluffy and soft. With a delighted cry, she lunged for and caught hold of the older man's bad rug.

"Sa-chan, no!" Ranma admonished, pulling it out of her daughter's fingers with an ungentle tug, prompting Sachiko to burst into frustrated tears. Ranma handed the hairpiece back to its owner in a half-bow. "I'm so sorry!"

Sanoguchi-san was flushed, but he took the antics in good grace, going up in Ranma's estimation a notch. "Not a problem, Hibiki-chan. She's a sweetheart, she just doesn't know what she's doing." He reclaimed his hairpiece and his dignity and made his way to the door. "Thank you for a wonderful evening."

"No problem. Come back any time!" Ranma cried after him. "When hell freezes over," she added after he'd closed the door completely.

Ryoga slumped down at the table next to her, his head in his hands.

"Oh, Ryoga, don't take it so bad," Ranma said sympathetically. "I'll... I'll apologize if you want me to."

Ryoga looked up at her with tears in his eyes. He burst into hysterical laughter.

Ranma examined him doubtfully in the flourescent light of the kitchen. "You... think this is funny?" Somehow she'd expected him to throw a traditional Ryoga rage, or at least a crying bout, along with something about his life being hell and her part in creating said hell.

"Oh, I think it's hilarious," Ryoga replied, moving to stand by the startled redhead. He captured the crying baby from Ranma's arms. "Who's my little girl?" he inquired of her, tossing her up in the air. "Who's my little girl?" A couple of repeats of this performance and Sachiko began to smile back at him.

"You are one big troublemaker for such a small thing," Ranma told her daughter.

Sachiko yawned.

"Are you my sleepy little girl?" Ryoga wanted to know. Sachiko's eyes were drooping.

"So now that you've wreaked havoc, it's bedtime, is it?"

Ranma looked up from her examination of her daughter's face to find that she and Ryoga were awfully close together. For a moment, their eyes met; then Ranma pulled away, feeling unhappy and embarrassed.

"I really owe you one for putting up with that jerk tonight," Ryoga finally whispered, hefting the baby and moving very slowly to the foot of the stairs.

"You sure do," she replied as they mounted the steps. She watched as Ryoga kept his motion very clean and smooth so as not to jostle the baby to wakefulness.

"What would you like in return?" he inquired.

Ranma blushed, suddenly remembering that she'd left the Annotated Kama Sutra on his bed. _Oh, no_. "There's nothing I want from you," she mumbled hastily, opening Sachiko's bedroom door.

"Take it easy, Ranma. I'd touch you in a moment if you said you wanted me to, but..." Gently, he lowered his arms to lay Sachiko in her crib, then rapidly slid his arm out from under her. Like a magician whipping the tablecloth off of a table yet leaving the china intact, Ryoga left Sachiko's sleeping form relatively undisturbed.

She watched him and the baby and nodded, finally. "Yeah. I know, but... you make me nervous..."

Softly, Ryoga closed the door behind Sachiko's peacefully sleeping form and moved quietly downstairs. "Why?"

"I don't know. I remembered a little about Sachiko. Maybe I'm worried I'll remember you."

"And what then?" he wanted to know.

"Well, and then lose everything that makes me Ranma," she replied sharply. "Lose _me_."

Ryoga moved her into the living room to sit. "You wouldn't lose that, Ranma. You can't."

When she shook her head in disbelief, he sighed. "I wish there was some way of showing you..." His eyes widened. "Wait, I _can_ show you!" He moved to the television. "I know we've got some home video, here. Uh, here it is! The wedding."

Ranma gulped as Ryoga pushed the DVD into the player, then came to join her on the couch.

"Okay... here we go."

Ranma heard her own voice coming through the television speakers, although the screen was still dark. "Is it on? Think it's on." A beautiful redhead who looked pretty much exactly as Ranma remembered herself waved at the camera, suddenly resolving as she retreated from the lens. "Hi, everyone!" she said.

The real Ranma blinked in surprise as she realized that she looked almost exactly the same in the camera as she did just now. _So much for growing a couple more centimeters. _

"It's my wedding day!" the redhead added cheerfully. "Can you believe it?"

Nabiki's voice sounded off-screen. "_No_."

Ranma looked behind herself nervously. "Heh heh. Right. No one can. Me least of all. Anyway, thought I'd be marrying a girl at least."

"Shut up, Ranma!" That sounded like Akane's voice.

"Yeah. Anyway... it's because he got me knocked up, the bastard..."

Several things were thrown at the redhead from off-screen, who ducked expertly. "Oh, all right. It's really 'cause he used these magical love arrows on me..."

Akane snuck up behind the redhead and hit her with something. It looked like a bouquet.

"Ite! Oh, all right. I just... I love him... that's all." She blushed and shifted her feet. "Ain't that enough? I know we'll be happy together. I'm one-hundred percent sure we'll be happy..." She paused. "Mou, I can't say anything right when I want to!" She stomped agitatedly off-camera.

Ryoga turned to Ranma on the couch. "I don't know why I didn't think of this before. Maybe it'll jog something."

Ranma nodded, spellbound by the nervous redhead who looked, spoke and... and behaved exactly as she did. She had understandably gotten the impression that there had been some kind of huge alteration in the way she thought, moved, _was_. But the on-screen redhead was exhibiting no signs of being anyone other than Saotome Ranma.

"Why?" Ranma was asking. "What do you mean, 'why'?"

Someone off-camera repeated the question. Whatever it was, it was too low to hear.

She paused to consider. "Huh. Well, uh... lessie. He's the only one who comes close to me in martial arts... uh, he's nice... and real cute. And dependable, once you attach a tracking device."

Laughter sounded from off-screen.

"And, uh... he smells good. And holds me tight. And kisses like he was born knowing how." She grinned reminiscently.

Ranma turned to gaze speculatively at Ryoga before catching herself and whipping around to view the screen.

"Hope that's not all he does!" Nabiki jibed.

The camera cut off, and there was a moment of blackness. When it switched back on, Ranma was adjusting a western-style wedding dress around her hips. "This is the weirdest bit of cross-dressing I've ever done," she announced. Her eyes suddenly latched onto the videocamera. "Damn it, is that thing on?"

Akane came on screen, looking up at Ranma. "You... you really look good," she said with obviously mixed emotions.

"Thank you, Akane," Ranma replied. "You'll look even better in yours someday."

Akane thanked her and moved offscreen faster than looked completely natural.

Ranma wondered what it would be like to be Akane in this situation; she decided that the normally volatile girl was doing loads better than she would have thought. Then again, it was two years later, and changes were easier to see in Akane. The dark-haired girl had obviously grown taller and a bit larger in the bust. At eighteen, Akane was a stunning example of an athletic woman. She had to have changed in ways other than the physical, though, in order to be holding her temper in this situation.

To Ranma's surprise, Nodoka entered the dressing room next, crying and looking proud. She was handing her daughter a woven necklace, an armband, a tiara, and a pair of earrings. "They're beautiful," Ranma said, adjusting the earrings, which practically fell to her shoulders. They were made of very small, intricate dark grey chains, which offset the color of her hair nicely. "You didn't have to."

"Yes, I did," Nodoka replied, adjusting the tiara over Ranma's veil. "They're made from the family's honor sword. I had it melted down."

The on-screen redhead's eyes widened and filled with tears. "Momma!" she exclaimed, and threw her arms around the Saotome matriarch.

"There, there, dear, I wouldn't want to mess up your makeup," Nodoka intoned, but her grip around her daughter was fierce. "Don't lose them."

Ranma shook her head vehemently.

"It's time, Ranma," Kasumi said.

"Uh... okay." Ranma moved to stand by the doors, claiming her flowers from Akane and swallowing visibly. Nodoka kissed her on the cheek, whispered something in her ear, and moved quickly off-camera.

"Tell me the truth, Nabiki," the redhead said as Nodoka exited. "Does all this iron look dumb?"

Nabiki appraised her critically. "You look somewhat medieval. Dumb doesn't enter into it."

"Guess he isn't coming," the on-screen redhead added, a little sadly.

"No offense, Ranma, but what did you expect?" Nabiki inquired, making last-second touches to Ranma's makeup and pulling a couple of strands free of her hairdo.

"Who're they talking about?" Ranma whispered.

"Hush," said Ryoga.

"Wait! I'm here, I'm here!"

Ranma blinked as a black-suited Genma slid on-screen. "Uh, sorry, lots of traffic, you know how it is."

The Ranma in the white dress blinked. "Pops?" she queried, a small, surprised quaver in her voice.

He nodded, looking sheepish. "Yeah. Ready to go?"

"You're here!"

"So it appears." He eyed her. "You look... medieval."

"So I'm told." Ranma offered him her arm. "Let's do this."

The camera winked out again, and winked back on from a different viewpoint. Now Ranma and Ryoga were watching the wedding from the perspective of the front of a small church. Ranma scanned the audience for faces she recognized and found Shampoo, Cologne, Ukyo, the Tendo girls minus Nabiki, and two people she vaguely recalled as Ryoga's parents. Her own mother was also in the audience, beaming and winking at her daughter, her eyes full of tears, her handkerchief in one trembling hand.

The real Ryoga hit the pause button on the remote. "Bring back any memories?"

"No," Ranma replied, a little shakily. It was more than slightly strange to watch herself do things she didn't recall doing.

Ryoga hit the play button again.

The camera refocused, bringing Ranma and Ryoga's faces to the forefront. Both were blushing, but neither looked exactly nervous. The redhead was looking up at Ryoga with a small, secret, and unthinkingly sexy little grin; Ryoga was smiling himself, pale except for a bright spot of color on each cheek. Although his ever-present bandanna was missing, his bowtie had the same pattern. Ranma and Ryoga had opted for the simplest of vows, and the ceremony was over relatively quickly.

Ranma forced herself to keep her eyes open as Ryoga lifted her counterpart's veil, laying it back like gossamer over the tiara her mother had given her. He leaned in, his lids heavy. She tilted her head back, ready to receive him. For a moment, any tension they'd had disappeared as they melted into one another, Ryoga's hands strong against her back. Then they parted, slowly, eyes opening regretfully, as if neither wanted to remember that they had an audience.

The entire church broke into cheers and applause. Ranma could make out someone cheering her specifically, but she didn't recognize the voice.

Shortly thereafter, the tape cut to the reception. The two of them were dancing the first dance together. _Boring,_ Ranma thought. The more interesting slow dance was the one between she and her father. Her lips were moving the whole time, with occasional spurts of conversation on her father's part. It was too bad the camera was so far away; the redhead would have _really_ liked to hear _that_ conversation.

The camera flipped off to refocus on Ryoga, who had loosened his bow tie and undone the first button of his dress shirt. "Why?" he repeated. "That's a hard question. I mean, why do you like chocolate ice cream?"

Nabiki giggled. She sounded more than a little drunk. "All I'm asking is for you to name her good points. That can't be all that hard."

Ryoga blushed and smiled. "No... it's not. Uh... lessie."

"Sure took you awhile, huh?" Ranma asked him.

Ryoga shook his head and grimaced. "Can't you see I was three sheets to the wind?"

"She's the best martial artist I know," he said first.

"Birds of a feather," Ryoga intoned, jabbing at Ranma's shoulder. "We both named the same thing first."

"Uh... she's really pretty. Never goes easy on me, always a challenge. Cute, especially when she's trying hardest to be macho. Lots of honor, never lies on purpose." The on-screen Ryoga paused, rubbed his chin. "Once, she kept a secret of mine long after she should have – because of honor."

"But you two haven't always been on the best of terms..." Nabiki put in delicately.

Ryoga waved that away. "Ranma w's always nice to me... even when I didn't know she was being nice... and I loved her longer than I thought."

Ryoga hit the stop button. "Man, I don't remember saying _that_. I must've been seriously drunk."

Ranma got a sudden and very disconcerting thought. "Were you saying what I think you were saying?"

Ryoga shook his head rapidly, his eyes widening as he caught the implication. "I never felt anything for you until you hit your head in the pond, I swear," he replied. "Maybe I was referring to that time you pretended to be my fiancee."

"Or that time with the koi rod," Ranma reminded him.

"That was _you_ liking _me_," Ryoga protested, "not the other way around."

"I can't get over that, though. You actually tried to kill me!"

"Maybe I was 'protesting too much'?" Ryoga quoted wryly.

"Eww."

"C'mon, Ranma, think back. Put yourself in my shoes. If a beautiful girl is throwing herself at you..."

"I guess you wouldn't have been a teenage boy if I hadn't turned you on at least a little," Ranma admitted. She lifted her arms over her head and struck a sexy pose. "Hell, you wouldn't have had a beating heart if you weren't turned on by _this_!"

"Uh huh," Ryoga teased. "I just couldn't keep my hands off you."

Ranma smirked, seeing the humor in the fiasco for the first time. "Sure. You should've seen your face. You were scared to death..."

"Maybe scared that if you did manage to catch me, I'd be in serious trouble."

Ranma shivered theatrically. "Let's not think about that. It still gives me the willies that you were willing to use that stupid thing on anyone."

"It's not like I thought it would work," Ryoga protested. "Besides, that's not what freaks _me_ out."

"What does?" Ranma inquired, slumping back into the comfy couch. "The fact that you fell for me eventually anyway?"

"_No_," he said, "the fact that there were at least two dozen _more_ fishing rods at the store where I bought mine."

"Okay now, _that's_ gonna keep me up nights."

"No kidding."

Ranma smirked. "Does this sound familiar? 'Oh, Ryoga!'" whispered in adoring tones. "'If I die, will it make you happy?'"

"Shut up, Ranma!" Ryoga growled. "You're giving me the creeps!"

"'Make it quick...!'" she whispered dramatically, and dropped off the couch like a stone.

"Ranma...?" Ryoga leaned over to view her. "Ranma?"

The redhead grabbed him by the collar with a maniacal grin. "Bwwaah ha ha!" she announced, pulling him down and kicking him.

"Stop it!"

"Make me," she replied, straddling him.

"Ranma, I wanna get up."

"No."

Ryoga squirmed under her. "Move."

"Make me," she repeated.

"Fine, but you asked for it." He grabbed her wrists and flipped the two of them over so that he was straddling _her_. Then the grin slowly disappeared from his features.

"What?" Ranma blinked up at him.

He shook his head, his eyes closing as if he didn't want to look at her.

"What!" she repeated.

Ryoga's eyes opened slowly, cautiously, as he turned to look at her. He appeared to be examining her features, his gaze torn between wonderment and some mysterious pain.

"R-Ryoga?" she stammered. "Did I... are you hurt?"

The front door opened, admitting the Tendo girls.

"Oh, my!" Kasumi exclaimed. "Have we interrupted something?"

* * *

Author's Notes:

Yes, I want to let you know that Ranma's 'proper wife' behaviour won't last. Thank goodness. I wanted to toss that in because I know that some people (most?) probably cringed inwardly at her behavior in much of this chapter. I would say that part of the reason she was so resistant to accept the role of wife – a big part – was due to the fact that, to Ranma, the role means being completely subservient, kind of like Kasumi on downers.

Ranma's weird perceptions of female roles are always interesting to play with. Part of the reason I wanted to do this story in the first place was to smash Ranma's misconceptions about women one at a time, with the help of a more-mature and far calmer Ryoga-kun.


	8. Losing

At your request, a recap of the events in this timeline:

Ranma and Ryoga were fighting as usual, when Ranma hit his head on a rock in the koi pond. Ryoga thought he had caught Ranma's hand to prevent the fall, which looked nasty, but that was not the case.

Ryoga, despondent because of Akane's ire, visited Ranma. Once Ranma woke up, she babbled seemingly incoherently, then kissed him in full view of Nabiki. Because of some quick thinking and a lot of luck, Ryoga managed to keep this a secret from all but Nabiki and Ukyo. The last thing he wants is Akane to know anything about this!

Nabiki observed that Ranma is very different from the Ranma she knows and l-... well, okay... tolerates... when she talked to Ranma that night.

Ranma taunted Kuno in new and ingenious ways, namely with his hair. (Don't ask, just read.)

Akane noticed the alteration in Ranma as well, calling this new Ranma 'sneaky', or maybe it's that he's more mature?

Ranma goes to the Cat Cafe to talk to Cologne. Cologne advises him to discuss his problems with Nabiki.

Ranma and Akane meet up with Ryoga on the way home, who adopts a don't-ask-don't-tell policy concerning their kiss. Ryoga slightly alters his perceptions about Ranma's girl form, and Akane asks Ryoga to stay for supper.

Ranma wastes no time in following Cologne's advice. He corners Nabiki and they have a long discussion in which he shares way too much information to list here. The most important thing is that he concludes that neither world is false. Somehow, they are both real, only he's moved from one to the other.

Strangely, Ranma's 'memory' of the future is shifting.

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHT: 1998 

It took Nabiki five or ten minutes of deep breathing and some calm reflection before she felt she could descend the stairs as though nothing had happened between she and this new Ranma. She was a gossipmonger by nature, and found herself practically buzzing with all of the new information he'd given her, but somehow she would have to keep it all to herself. This was not beyond her powers, but it certainly stretched them, given her... tendencies.

When Nabiki practically flew down the stairs, she was met by an odd sight. Ryoga, Akane and Ranma were all sitting at the kitchen table.

No one was hitting or insulting the other.

"...where you'd been?" Akane was saying.

Ranma shrugged. "Felt like some alone time."

Nabiki wanted to slap him. _That doesn't sound like you at all, idiot_. _If you want to keep secrets, you have to act like nothing's changed._

"Whatever," Akane replied with a wave of her hand.

"So, uh, A-Akane," Ryoga stammered. "There's a... a fair coming to town tomorrow..."

Akane grinned. "Oh, yeah! I know."

"Were you p-planning on g-going?"

"Of course!" Akane announced. "The signs have been up for weeks, building the anticipation, you know?" She winked.

Ryoga flushed bright red. "S-so, you've got plans already."

Akane smiled gently. "Not anything set in stone. Why, did _you_ want to go?"

Nabiki's eyes slid to Ranma who, by all rights, should have come in at this point, guns blazing. Or the fist equivalent. Come to think of it, even this new Ranma should be upset, if for a different reason.

Ranma had a curiously blank expression on his face. It made Nabiki wonder if he was even paying attention.

"Oh, yes, if _you_ do!" Ryoga gushed.

"Sure!" Akane replied with a slightly nervous smile at the Lost Boy's level of enthusiasm. "You can come with me and Ranma!"

Ryoga froze, Ranma unfroze and Akane appeared confused. Nabiki smiled quietly to herself. Ranma had expected that, but hadn't been quite certain: she watched as Ranma's shoulders relaxed. "Yeah, pig-boy, we don't mind having you along. After all, we're _friends_, right?"

Ryoga grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like an expletive.

Somehow, to Nabiki's ears, Ranma didn't exactly sound like someone addressing a spouse. "I'll come too," Nabiki suddenly announced.

_Mou. Why'd I do that? Kami-sama knows it'll cost money to get in; and I'll end up paying for something in lieu of somebody else; and there will be some outrageous martial arts battle, just because... hmm, maybe I can turn it into an attraction and charge admission!_

Ranma's smile was answer enough. "Sure! Maybe Kasumi wants to go!"

When Kasumi entered, carrying a heavy platter of some kind, Soun and Genma seemed to magically appear. With Ryoga as the guest, there was just enough room for everyone to crowd around the table.

"So, Kasumi," Ranma began, lowering his chopsticks to his meal, "we're going to that fair tomorrow. Feel like coming with us?"

Kasumi blinked, almost losing her grip on the ladle which she was using to serve the soup. "M-me?"

"Sure!" Ranma enthused. "We'd like to have you along, right?"

The other teens at the table were rapid in their agreement.

Kasumi served her own soup last, then sat down; after a brief, puzzled look crossed her features, she awarded them with a gentle smile. "Certainly I'd like to go!"

"Wonderful," Ranma replied. He gazed down at his plate, which had nothing on it but traces of sauce. He turned to his father, who was looking innocent.

"That's not like you, boy," Genma intoned. "A martial artist must always be prepared!"

"Yadda yadda yadda," Ranma replied, sipping his soup. "Blah blah blah."

"How dare you insult my training methods?" Genma demanded, his mouth full of sukiyaki. "I have made you what you are today, boy!"

Ranma smiled at him; rather sweetly, Nabiki thought. "Sure have. A misogynistic obsessive ailurophobe!"

Kasumi's spoon clattered into her soup.

"What's misogynistic?" Akane whispered to Ryoga.

"What's _ailurophobe?_" Ryoga demanded back.

Nabiki sipped her soup calmly. "Ranma, don't insult your father like that," she cut in.

Ranma's severe, angry expression dissipated like mist on a hot day. "Uh... r-right," he whispered, and dove once again into his soup.

Once dinner was finished, Soun and Genma dove for the family dictionary, flipping through it quickly.

Kasumi, doing her best to ignore the fathers as usual, rose and began clearing the table.

"Ah! Er, we'll help!" Ranma announced, getting to his feet. He nudged Akane forcefully. "Right?"

Akane stiffened and rose as well. "Oh! Uh, right!"

She and Ranma began carrying dishes into the kitchen.

"That's perfectly all right," Kasumi protested. "You two have schoolwork and other such things to do, don't you? Besides, it's rude to be inattentive to your..."

Ryoga entered the kitchen carrying the large platter.

"...guest," Kasumi finished, something like incredulity on her face.

"I'm sure you have things you'd rather be doing, too," Ranma replied, "but if you're clearing the table then so am I."

Kasumi's lips twitched up into the biggest smile he'd ever seen. "Ranma..." Tears gathered in her eyes.

"Eep!" Ranma murmured. "Kasumi... if I'd known it'd mean this much to you, then..."

"No... no, it's not that!" Kasumi exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I'm being silly. Excuse me..." She wandered off upstairs.

"What was _that_ all about?"

Ranma was surprised to note that Ryoga was standing beside him, a concerned expression on his face.

"You didn't make my sister _cry_, did you, Ranma?" Akane demanded.

"I don't know what I said or did," Ranma replied. "I'm gonna go talk to her. Do you two mind taking it from here?"

Akane shook her head; Ryoga was a heartbeat behind.

"Okay, be right back." Ranma flew up the stairs.

* * *

He could tell Kasumi was in tears before he opened her bedroom door. He didn't knock; immediately he realized that he should have, because the hurt and wild expression she gave him before wiping her tears and forcing her features into the semblance of a smile cut him deeply. 

"R-Ranma," Kasumi greeted him. "I'm sorry. You still need help downstairs. You don't know where everything goes..."

"I know where everything goes. Sit back down."

Kasumi sat, looking surprised at his direct order, and possibly surprised that she'd obeyed it. "Ano..."

Ranma sat next to her on the bed, causing Kasumi to flush nervously. "Ranma... that's my bed... and..."

The martial artist shrugged. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Kasumi flinched. "I would never think that! You, of all people wouldn't... but..." She flushed in frustrated agitation.

"I'm making you nervous, aren't I?" He rose and sat across from her on a small, plush chair. He gazed around her room; so neat, so well-kept... even sterile. There weren't even any stuffed animals on the bed. A small vase of fresh flowers by the window was the only indication that this wasn't the guest room he remembered it to be.

Kasumi wiped her eyes absently, watching Ranma peer around as though he'd never been in her room before. She blinked, puzzled. Had he? Well... of course. He had to have been. He'd lived in the house nearly a year, now.

"You wanna start, or should I?"

"Pardon?"

"You don't cry because someone helps you with the dishes, Kasumi. I may be clueless, but even I know that."

A ghost of a smile appeared on the older girl's face. "That's so, Ranma. But I don't think I should speak about this; least of all to you. It may be something that only another woman would understand."

"Maybe mom, then," Ranma suggested.

"I doubt such a... traditional woman would understand..." Kasumi whispered, her face heating.

"Ah, it's over a guy, huh?" Ranma prodded knowingly.

Kasumi's blush intensified. "Ranma..."

"All right, all right." Ranma rose. "But honestly, who am _I_ gonna tell?" He moved to the door.

"Ranma!"

Ranma froze with one hand on the doorknob. "Yeah?"

"I... I _do_ need to tell someone..."

Ranma's eyes softened, and he moved to the chair, leaning forward slightly and looking at her so intently that Kasumi flushed.

"I know why... Tofu-sensei is gone..."

Ranma straightened in surprise, which was quickly swept away in an expression that Kasumi couldn't interpret. He almost looked – relieved. But that couldn't be right. "He and I..." Kasumi's eyes closed tightly. "I'm just so selfish!"

"That's the farthest thing from what you are."

"I just thought I could make him act normal, if I got him..." She gulped. "Really, really drunk..."

"...so you did," Ranma went on in a soft, slightly querying voice, "but in the morning he was just the same as ever?"

Kasumi froze. "Kami-sama above. Does _everyone_ know?"

Ranma shook his head. "No, of course not, Kasumi. So you're a married woman now, is that it?"

"Is it written on my face?" Kasumi implored. "Oh, Ranma, if Daddy _ever_ found out..."

"Did you get the divorce yet?"

"Divorce?" Kasumi straightened. "He disappeared; he didn't leave me any divorce papers."

Ranma smiled. "It isn't written anywhere on you, Kasumi. You're the best gal at keeping a secret I ever knew. It's just this side-effect of my bein' knocked on the head."

"Side-effect? You mean you're telepathic, now?"

Ranma shrugged uncomfortably. "Not exactly. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going crazy, though, so I asked." He offered her a watery smile. "Anyway, it seems like I was right, so... I'm sorry about Tofu. He's a cowardly jerk... I know he loved you, but he just can't get it together. Don't worry about this, Kasumi. You're still just a kid, you'll find someone else."

Kasumi pondered this for a moment. "Thank you, Ranma. This makes my problem seem slightly... less severe."

"Thanks, I think."

Kasumi stood. "My goodness, I think I'm shocked out of my depression altogether!"

Ranma laughed aloud. "Glad to be of service."

Kasumi patted him on the head. "You're a darling." Her hands lingered, running through his now-short hair.

"Kasumi?"

"It's a mess," she said. "Don't tell me you cut it yourself?"

Ranma shrugged. "Felt like a change," he lied, unconsciously imitating his fiancée.

Kasumi shook her head. "Well, it won't do. Let me get my scissors; I'll even it out for you."

* * *

Downstairs, Akane and Ryoga were just finishing up with the dishes. Ryoga could scarcely believe his own luck. Here he was – just he and Akane – and Ranma had left them alone together to do something companionable. 

It was like some kind of airy dream.

Not to mention the fact that Ranma had been a lot nicer, lately; not just to him, he sensed, but to everyone. It was more than a little weird. But who was he to question anything that brought he and his beloved closer together?

_Washing dishes together..._ Ryoga grinned. _It's almost like we're... married!_

Ranma pulled Akane away from him by the waist. "All right, Akane, you've done enough!"

Akane pouted slightly, but Ryoga could tell it was for effect. And what was with the way Ranma kept _touching_ her all the time, these days!

"If you insist," Akane was saying. "Just like you to show up when we're about done, though."

Ranma jerked his head in the direction of the stairs. "A little more important, don't you think?"

Akane rolled her eyes. "If I'm supposed to know when _you're_ kidding, you're definitely supposed to know when I am!"

Ranma scowled. "Aw, spoil my fun." He accepted the dish Ryoga was holding and began to dry it.

Ryoga, who had been holding the dish out to Akane, felt the beginnings of a dark depression creep up on him.

Akane perched on one of the counters to watch them work. "So when should we meet up for the fair?"

Ryoga blinked. He hadn't thought of that. How he was going to make it he couldn't begin to fathom. Perhaps he could ask Akane to lead him to Ucchan's, and then stay there for the night? And then, after that, ask Ukyo to lead him to the fair?

Wait. Wouldn't that seem like a double-date? And wouldn't Akane wonder if he asked to be dropped at Ukyo's to sleep over? He shook his head slightly in negation. That wouldn't do.

"Ryoga, how's that for you?" Akane inquired.

"Huh?"

Ranma nudged him. "You awake?"

Ryoga realized that he had stopped washing, and began scrubbing industriously. "Uh... how's what for me?"

Akane blinked. "Are you even listening? I said how about if we head out for the fair right after supper? Like, seven-thirty or so?"

Ryoga nodded. "I'll make it," he vowed.

"Oh!" Akane exclaimed. "That's right! I keep forgetting about your little problem."

"Akane, that's rude," Ranma said, speaking up finally. "You know about his thing with directions. Don't make it harder than it is."

Akane huffed. "I was _trying_ to be nice! And trying to segue into asking Ryoga if he wanted to stay over again!"

Ranma shook his head. "No. He can't."

"It isn't for you to say," Akane reminded him. "Unless you've forgotten, this is _my_ house, not yours."

Ranma chuckled. "Whatever you say."

"Don't treat Akane like that!" Ryoga growled, punching Ranma in the arm.

"I mean, I've been living here for, what? A year and a half?"

Akane stared at him, a small frown creasing her brow. "Don't exaggerate. It's been less than a year, Ranma."

"Oh... uh, right," Ranma replied, frowning in concentration. "Anyway, when does it become my house, too?"

Ryoga felt like rubbing his hands together. It seemed like a pretty harsh argument, if not one of their usual ones where they simply exchanged insults.

But Akane was pausing to consider Ranma's words. "Well, I guess you're right," she admitted. "I mean, you do _live_ here."

"So am I staying the night, or what?" Ryoga growled.

"Yes!" Akane said.

"No!" Ranma said at precisely the same moment.

"I don't know why you think Ryoga shouldn't!" Akane declared. "If you're his friend, then you of all people should be sympathetic to the fact that he won't be here tomorrow if you kick him out! There's nothing he can do about it!"

"I'm not sympathetic because I know he can take care of himself!" Ranma shot back. "He's not some little kid who needs watching, Akane! He's a man, a guy, and he doesn't need your help!"

This was shaping up to fit into a category that Ryoga Hibiki labeled as 'odd'. Ranma and Akane had fought about him before, but somehow this didn't have the same feel. Moreover, other than repeating that Ranma shouldn't treat Akane like that, he didn't know what to say; especially when Ranma was essentially calling him 'capable'. Which no one had called him so far as he could remember. He knew he was considered stupid or witless or inattentive because he couldn't find his way.

"Helping someone out doesn't _take anything away from them_!"

Ranma paused. "What did you just say?"

"Just because I'm helping Ryoga doesn't mean I think any less of him. He's my friend, and if you weren't so stupid-jealous, you'd see that!"

Ryoga wanted popcorn. This was getting good.

"It's not _you_ I'm worried about!" Ranma finally said, but with less conviction than before.

"What are you saying?" Ryoga demanded, finally reaching an 'in' point in the squabble. "That you think I'd... without permission!"

"Two words for you, buddy. Koi. Rod."

Ryoga screamed at the top of his lungs. "I'm NEVER... GOING... TO LIVE... THAT DOWN!"

"No shit, Sherlock," Ranma replied, obviously calming. "It was stupid, and it set you back, like, eons just on general principle."

Akane recalled the incident and gulped. "You don't think Ryoga's going to try something with _you_... do you, Ranma?"

The two boys froze.

"What do you know?" Ranma demanded.

"How much did you see?" Ryoga said atop Ranma's comment.

Akane looked confused. "Well... everything," she replied, still under the impression that they were discussing how she'd walked in on them in Ryoga's tent, obviously getting ready for some heavy petting.1

"'Everything', she says," Ryoga breathed, feeling his entire world shatter around him.

"Relax, buddy, no she didn't," Ranma countered, regaining himself.

"No, it's true," Akane whispered. "You had your top off and everything."

This brought Ryoga up short. "Wait. Huh?"

"Koi. Rod," Ranma repeated.

_He's enjoying watching me squirm!_ Ryoga realized. "Oh, right, back then. That biiiig _misunderstanding_."

"Riiiight," Akane drawled. "Anyway... what were we talking about?"

"Aw, let 'im stay over. It ain't like I really care," Ranma suddenly announced.

"Then what was all of this nonsense about!" Ryoga demanded.

Ranma shrugged. "Whatever. Listen, I got homework. You two crazy kids have a good time." He meandered into the room he shared with Genma and slammed the door.

"Ranma," Akane breathed.

Ryoga growled to himself. "What is _with _him!" He turned to Akane. "You wait there. I won't stand for this!"

"Ryoga, he's just-" Akane began, trailing after him. "Wait for me when I'm talking to you!"

Ryoga had already pulled Ranma from his room. "Stop moping and fight!" he announced, dragging Ranma outside.

Akane began to emit a red aura. "I said stop and I meant it! Don't you two ever listen!"

Ryoga, who had his fist cocked back to punch the other martial artist, froze. He _had_ just promised Akane to not fight Ranma seriously.

That was when he noticed that the boy whose collar he was holding had his eyes tightly closed and a casual hand rising to block the punch he knew was coming.

A chain reaction began in Ryoga's brain. Ranma wasn't going to fight him back? He was just going to stand there and take the hit? What could that possibly mean? Unconsciously, his arm began to lower. What the hell was wrong with Ranma, anyway? Did he think he deserved the hit? Was that why? He'd seen Ranma do this when Akane took out her mallet and...

The arm dropped. _When Akane hits him, he does this. Akane. Not me._

One of Ranma's tightly closed eyes opened slightly to view Ryoga's puzzled face. The hit he'd been expecting had halted for some unknown reason. He stared at Ryoga, wondering when the pain was going to arrive, his expression sorrowful rather than angry.

Ryoga gulped, because in that moment, the moment that Ranma's eyes had met his, he realized that there was no malice in them – not anymore. Not even Ranma's usual brash stubbornness reflected there – no defiance, no anger. They just met his with a quiet intensity and a dark depression that rivaled any he'd ever experienced himself – but even more, there was more there, a depth that Ryoga couldn't quite interpret.

Ryoga suddenly released his hold on Ranma's collar. The other martial artist dropped like a stone.

Ryoga began to back away from him. He didn't know what it was that he'd seen in Ranma's eyes – except that they were knowing. They _knew_ him, understood him in a way that was... that was impossible, coming from Ranma.

And worst of all, they… they _forgave_ him.

_Ranma, what's the _matter_ with you!_

Akane flew to Ryoga's side. "Thank you! I know that I can't stop you two fighting forever, but please try to remember your promise to me, okay? Just spar for awhile. All right?"

Ryoga scarcely heard the words, but he was nodding absently in response. He watched with haunted eyes as Ranma stood and made his way back into his room without so much as a word.

* * *

"What the hell was that about, boy?" 

Ranma jumped slightly. He hadn't even noticed that his father was ready for bed, his futon out. "What was what about?"

Genma rolled his eyes. "You and the Hibiki boy. And that stupid comment at dinner."

Ranma shrugged. "Don't know what you're talkin' about with Ryoga. As far as the comment goes, what can I say? It's true."

"Ranma – I modeled you into the best martial artist of your generation. What more can you ask of me than that?"

The young man grabbed his bedroll and began undoing the ties. "I dunno. I guess you did the best you could. That _is_ all I can ask."

Genma's expression shifted to worry. "You can't call yourself a misogynist with four fiancées!"

Ranma chuckled. "Yes, I can. 'Girls are stupid, weak, and a distraction from the art.'"2

"Yes, and?"

"And I _am_ a girl half the time," Ranma supplied. "Duh. So does that mean I become an idiot when I get splashed with cold water?"

"Of course not," Genma replied. "What's this all about?"

"Yeah, but that's the way I think of girls. I can't help it. It's the way I think about me, when I happen to be one."

Genma was silent for a moment. "You're the first to say that you're a man in both forms, Ranma." He stroked his chin. "Therefore, you're _never_ useless and weak."

"The reason I say that so much is that I'm freaked out," Ranma supplied passionlessly, unrolling the soft cushiony material and smoothing it flat. "'Course I'm a girl when I'm a girl. What else would I be? When I'm female, I've got girl parts, girl brain, girl _everything_."

"How dare you say such a thing? Oh, the son I've raised is–"

"Stuff it," Ranma ordered harshly. "I'm just giving it to you straight. Geez, I thought an old liar like you might appreciate it." Ranma threw off his shirt and crawled into the bedroll.

"You're telling me that you think _you're_ stupid and weak because I told you that _girls_ are stupid and weak?"

Ranma didn't reply; he merely shifted slightly. The crinkle of cloth on cloth was heard.

"But you're _not_ a girl..."

Ranma turned over so that he wasn't facing his father.

"Ranma, say something! If you tell me you're a girl half the time, whatever will I do about Nodoka?"

Ranma turned on his side and stared at his father. "Pops. I'm a girl half the time."

Genma gulped, wiping his sweat-laden brow. "But all this time... going on and on about your manhood..."

"It was a lie, all right? An especially dumb one, considering the circumstances." Ranma's intense blue eyes finally shifted away from his father's, giving the older man a palpable feeling of relief. "When I'm a girl, I'm a girl. I like looking nice, like eating parfaits, like hanging with Akane without as much... tension..."

Genma was shaking his head with each pronouncement.

"...like finding out another one of those girl-mysteries... that most guys'll never even realize are there. Come on, you have to have noticed the way I act as a girl ain't the way I act as a boy. You're not half the idiot you pretend to be."

"I'm _what_!" Genma demanded, pressing his hands to his ears. "I'm not liiistening..."

"Okay. Fine. Whatever. We have our first heart-to-heart talk in... lessie... _ever_, and you won't even hear me out! I don't know what I expected. You're useless. Totally useless."

"Where'd you learn to be so vicious? I didn't teach you _that_. What happened to you?"

Ranma's expression of cruel triumph fell away from his face, leaving something infinitely sadder behind. "I got older," he replied.

* * *

Ryoga put his hand to his forehead. "Damn it." 

These were the facts: it was one in the morning. He was badly in need of the Tendo bathroom. He was directionally blighted.

Draw your conclusions from there.

A brilliant half-moon was shining through the windows, faintly illuminating the entire household. It was stunningly bright and large and beautiful, but Ryoga had no attention to spare it. He was doing his best to recall where the bathroom actually was. However, he couldn't summon a mental picture of the house at all. It seemed like the rooms were in a different place each time. For instance, here was the kitchen, when he could have sworn that it was upstairs next to Akane's room.

Ryoga drew up short. Standing in shadow, her shoulders hunched and her forearms resting on the kitchen counter, was Akane. Her entire posture was one of dejection, and... and was that crying?

_Ranma did something to her! That jerk! He'll pay for this no matter... how much... it'll hurt Akane? Mou... if only she came to realize what a bastard he is!_

Akane had a glass of water in front of her, and appeared to be drinking it to get rid of raw, sob-induced hiccoughs. Every now and then she'd take a slow sip of the water, but it was obvious she was having a hard time halting her own tears. Ryoga didn't know what to do. He wanted to take her in his arms, but he was afraid Akane would think that Ranma was right: that he was trying to take advantage of her in her time of sorrow.

Gulping and cursing himself for a coward, he forced himself to put one foot in front of the other. He reached out for her shoulder and squeezed in a way that he hoped was comforting.

Ranma whirled around to face him, a gasp on her lips, her hand over her heart. "Geez! Y-you scared me..." She paused. "On second thought, the hiccoughs are gone, so maybe I should say thanks."

Ryoga swallowed past a sudden lump in his throat. "R-Ranma?"

"The one and only." Ranma's eyes widened, causing two more tears to spill from her eyes. "The hair! You thought I was Akane." Her fingers swept through her now very-short, boyish cut, which looked dark in the dim light of the kitchen. The cut did strange things to her face – made her eyes look more open with the bangs out of the way; made her neck look long and slender and feminine.

Ryoga realized that, despite her flippant tone, one of her hands was gripping his sleeve very, very hard. She didn't seem aware of it; or she was aware of it and just didn't care. "You're crying," he managed.

Ranma nodded. "Sorry."

"Sorry?"

She shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "Didn't want you, of all people, to see me like this."

"What happened? Are you hurt?"

She laughed, strange and empty. "Hurt? Not where you can see." She tugged his sleeve, suddenly, lifting her eyes to his. "Ryoga..."

"Y-yeah?" Her expression made him twitch. She looked... a lot like a girl, all of a sudden.

"Could you..." She shook her head. "Aw, to hell with asking." She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him and _squeezed_.

Her arms were soft but strong. And she smelled like... what did she smell like? Was it the soap she used? Could that just be her? He didn't know, couldn't even tell if he liked the scent or hated it. Her head barely came up past his shoulder. Boy, she really was short. He forgot that all the time, because she was so strong; they were about on even levels in martial arts when she was a girl. The front of his shirt was now wet with tears.

And she was crying again. She was crying harder, maybe, than before. She had two handfuls of his shirt and she was gripping them so hard that he thought she might cut into her own hands with her fingernails. Now she was beating one fist against him, saying she hated him. She said it over and over. He had to hold her just to contain her.

All of a sudden the action stopped. He felt her tremble all over, felt something build within her. All of a sudden, she opened her mouth.

In sudden and desperate understanding, he buried her face into his chest with his free hand, and she screamed into him. The scream was despair, primal and pure, even muffled through his clothing. It echoed in his chest, vibrated his ribcage.

_Dear God,_ he thought, finally thinking again. He realized he was trembling, too. Trembling all over. They'd slid to the kitchen floor. She was calming, though. Her breathing was slowing.

Ryoga slowly came to realize, the way he'd come to realize that he'd kissed her, that he was holding a scantily-clad female Ranma in a tangle of limbs on the kitchen floor.

Somehow who she was didn't matter half so much this time, except that he'd never seen anything phase Ranma with a handful of notable exceptions.

She was controlling her breathing now in a conscious way: two short breaths in, one long breath out. Calming. Becoming herself again.

Ryoga wondered what would happen to him when her calming rituals reached their conclusion.

Ranma lifted her face up to his. "I just miss you so much," she breathed, her eyes soft, almost glazed over from her catharsis. "Don't... don't wanna lose you... Ryoga..."

"You miss... me?"

She nodded, and wiped her eyes on the sleeves of her pyjamas. "Sorry. It's a wonder you didn't transform." She stood, pulling him up after her. "I'm so sleepy, now." She drank the last sip of her water and began to wash the cup, as though nothing had happened.

Ryoga twitched. "So that's it?"

Ranma gazed at him over her shoulder. "What, were you expecting more?"

"No!" Ryoga forced himself to examine his motivations. Truth be told, he didn't think he'd ever been quite so _far_ from being sexually excited as when Ranma was screaming into his chest cavity. He was... disturbed. Especially at how normal she was acting, now.

Ranma dried the cup and put it back in the cupboard. "'Night." She disappeared into the room she shared with Genma and shut the door.

"I'm... I'm outta my depth," Ryoga said aloud.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Not much to say, other than that I feel bad for Ranma _and_ Ryoga in this chapter. And that Ranma's 'calming breathing' is... you guessed it... lamaze.

On a final note, this website removes question mark-exclamation point combinations. So, often, in a bit of dialogue that was meant to be an extremelyemphatic question, all you're getting is the extremelyemphatic part. Sorry.

1 As you might expect, that wasn't what they were doing at all. It only (understandably) appeared that way to Akane at the time.

2 It's interesting that Ranma simply uses Genma's comment about misogyny as a way to discuss his curse. He obviously wants to talk about it, or needs to talk about it. If he were just attempting to piss Genma off, he would have said, "Having four fiancées is just what _makes_ me a misogynist, Pops."


	9. Sleep

At your request, a recap of the events in this timeline:

Ranma and Ryoga were fighting as usual, when Ranma hit his head on a rock in the koi pond. Ranma thought Ryoga had caught his hand to prevent the fall, but that was not the case.

When Ranma awakens, she is in female form and asleep in Akane's bed. When she searches the Tendo house for someone to figure out what's going on, she discovers a completely different decor and a child.

Kuno arrives and informs Ranma that the child, Sachiko, is hers. Ranma assumes she's had the baby with Kuno at first. Once Kuno takes Ranma to Ucchan's, the two of them inform Ranma that she is now in her twenties and that it is 2004. Ranma passes out.

When Ranma reawakens, she is in Akane's bed again. Akane is there, and she finally convinces Ranma that what Ukyo and Kuno have said is the truth. Akane explains that Ranma went into a deep depression a long time ago; Ryoga was the only thing that brought her back. Ranma is now married to Ryoga; the baby is theirs.

Ranma panicks and runs off to Ukyo, but Ryoga manages to bring her back. Ryoga makes her promise not to bolt, for one week; Ranma makes him promise not to come after her once she does.

Ranma attempts to recall the past, and tries to figure out if she really is attracted to Ryoga. Both attempts fail.

Ranma comes across a letter from her father saying that he will return to Tokyo soon, then washes up. Ranma discovers several things, including: she will not change back to male in the hot water; being stuck as a girl is miserable, but being stuck as a guy all the time would also be miserable; how she appears isn't just her 'girl body' – it's _her_; and she understands, for the first time, that she and Ryoga have really been together in a sexual way.

Nabiki arrives with Sachiko, telling Ranma that her amnesia is probably due to a knock on the head, that she first started acting strange after a knock on the head when she was sixteen, and that she kissed Ryoga right after that injury. Ranma also suddenly recalls certain things about Sachiko, including the baby's age.

Ranma feeds the baby and is preparing dinner when Ryoga arrives – with a guest, who turns out to be Ryoga's boss. Ranma plays the perfect wife for awhile, but it definitely grates. She's more willing to be decent to Ryoga, though, even in private.

Ranma watches she and Ryoga's wedding video, and begins to tease Ryoga about all the times they came close to being in love. And at that point, the door opens, and the Tendo sisters walk in, finding the pair in a... ahem... compromising position.

------

CHAPTER NINE: 2004

"Oh, my!" Kasumi exclaimed. "It looks like we've interrupted something!"

Ryoga snapped to attention, rising quickly from his position and tugging Ranma to her feet. Ranma, feeling more than a little dizzy from the sudden juxtaposition, shook her head to clear it.

"Uh, Ranma and I were just fooling around..." Ryoga began hesitantly.

"That's exactly what we thought we were interrupting," Nabiki intoned ascerbically.

"Geez, Ranma, in the middle of the _floor_?" Akane demanded, tsking under her breath. "_Really._"

Ranma blushed. "No, uh, we weren't..." She sighed in resignation as she viewed the Tendo girls, all gazing at her incredulously. "I mean, really. Honestly!" This didn't seem to have any effect.

"Anyway, it's girl's night in, Ryoga... so shoo," Nabiki ordered, wiggling her fingers at him.

"Uh, right. Gee, I'm tired. Guess I'll turn in early tonight," he said woodenly. He leaned in to kiss Ranma on the cheek, but froze before he could make contact. "Uh... 'night, Ranma."

"'Night, Ryoga," she murmured uncomfortably. _I'm an idiot. What did I mean by teasing him like that?_ "Uh... wait! I'll walk you up."

Together they ascended the two flights of stairs to Soun's old room. "I'd rather not sleep in here without you," he said quietly, both for Sachiko and to avoid the over-eager ears of the Tendo sisters.

"I'm not sleeping with you," she replied, just as softly. _No need to wake the baby, after all._

"I mean that I feel guilty. It's the master bedroom. I don't want to kick you out to Akane's room or the guest room. I didn't mean..." He sighed, and Ranma realized that her own expression was incredulous. Her lips thinned in determination. _Husband. He's your husband!_

Ranma suddenly remembered that he'd gone off to Kasumi's room the night before. She shook her head. "Don't feel bad. I don't care about it. I could sleep on the floor just as easy."

"It's the principle of the thing."

"Look, I'm telling you not to worry about it."

He sighed. "All right." He moved into the master bedroom, and his eyes found the copy of the Kama Sutra that she'd tossed onto the bed. "This some kind of hint?"

Ranma reddened, snatching the book and tossing it away.

"Ranma... that was just a joke. You know... a joke. Not to be taken seriously." One corner of Ryoga's lips twitched up, but his brows were lowered. "Try to relax, okay?"

Ranma opened her mouth to retort, then paused, frowning. "What if I do remember, and... and start to like you... like that?" Her voice was low, mumbling, like she didn't even want him to hear.

"Usually, people in love don't mind it, Ranma. Especially if the feeling's mutual." His smile was wry, and his expression a little exasperated.

She crossed her arms over her chest tightly, as if to ward the thought away. "That's what I'm afraid of. It's like I'm falling into some kind of weird, elaborate trap. I mean, back when I was sixteen, I was falling into them all the time. What if this isn't really real? What if you're not my husband at all? What if I'm dreaming, or caught in some kind of spell? Giving in to you... for Sachiko, and for the girl on that video... might be worth it. But what if I give you everything I have and it turns out that I've killed Saotome Ranma over some kinda delusion?"

"_Killed_ him? Ranma... you don't _really_ think that's how it was, do you?"

"Well what am I supposed to think?" she demanded, her hand lifting up to rest over his. "Here you are, my... you're my husband! I'm your wife... The fact that we've had a baby means... means that..." She flushed, turning abruptly away from him. "Oh, you _know_ what it means!"

"You're such an innocent, Ranma. And to think I figured you for the Lothario type back then."

"'Back then'!" Ranma quoted. "To you, it's 'back then', but to me, you're the one out of synch. First you hit me all the time – now we're married and you want things to go on as usual. As usual! Like I even know what that is! Like I know anything about being a woman – much less a wife! Far less a mother! I'm worried, Ryoga." Ranma seemed to shrink several inches. "No – scared. I'm scared. If I get the hang of this, if I get it – no, you. If I get you... what do I lose?"

"I'm not sure," Ryoga replied softly, leading her to the bed to sit. "There were things I had to let go of to be with you."

"Your gag reflex?"

Ryoga winced and hung his head.

Ranma followed the motion, her wince a beat behind his. "Sorry. I'm sorry, I'm... I'm not myself. What did you give up?"

"Akane, for one," he replied with a small smile. "A lot of hate and fear. My folks, to some degree. They act like they don't know who I am anymore. Especially since I learned to control my curse, too."

"Why? Wouldn't they be happy? About the curse, I mean."

Ryoga shook his head ruefully. "I'm the only one in my family who can do it, because I'm no good at explaining. Also, they weren't trained to master their chi like I was."

"So you control it through your chi..." Ranma frowned. "Guess that makes sense."

Ryoga leaned back, shifting his weight to his forearms. "Are you trying to change the subject?"

"That depends. Is it working?"

"You're hopeless."

Still, they shared a small grin, creating butterflies of nervousness in Ranma's stomach. "So, uh... how does it work?"

"It's a rip in... uh... I'm not sure how to say it. Reality? That's how I got lost in the first place. My chi is fueled by depression. Anytime I was feeling particularly depressed, I'd inadvertently create this rip thing and walk right into it. I'd pop out kami-knows where. Sometimes a block away – sometimes a whole continent."

"And fixing it?"

"Means I just control those rips. Making them and deciding where they lead. I have far better control over my chi now than I did then – but that was through years of practice. The rest of my family isn't willing to go through first the physical training and then the mental in order to master their chi. They keep thinking there must be some easy way out." He shrugged. "Maybe there is. But in my experience, nothing as complicated as the directional curse is easy to fix."

"Yeah. Uh, so when'd you fix it?"

"Ranma..."

"Damn it, Ryoga, I just don't know how to talk about the... about the other thing! I'm useless when it comes to this stuff! Especially with you... What am I supposed to say? I... I don't love you. I can't imagine it! Except that I can... because... because of how you act and because of how happy and loved our daughter is, and because Akane acts like it's okay, when she should be tearing me to shreds! I... I..."

Ryoga opened his arms and slowly drew her to him. For a moment she was afraid that he would kiss her. Then he had wrapped his arms around her, gently at first, and then tighter. "Man," he said softly, "I needed this."

Ranma didn't dare breathe for a moment, stiffening in surprise and also in the fear that if she moved, she would move closer. If his arms had been nice yesterday, they were even better today. Her body relaxed, and she breathed him in again, allowing herself to enjoy it this time. She felt him relax around her, felt each muscle un-tense. Something within her body seemed to unfold or expand, and she sighed, snuggling deeper into his embrace, unconsciously hiding her eyes. This felt good, but she still didn't know what that meant. You couldn't say 'love' just because of something like this, could you?

Ryoga spoke into her hair, quietly but intensely. "I wish you didn't believe that you have to clamp down on who you are just to be with me. You didn't used to think that. Downstairs just now, I forgot, for just a minute, that you didn't remember..." He paused, and Ranma felt his body stiffen around hers, as though he was bracing himself under some difficult truth. "You... you acted like yourself, but you also acted like you loved me. That... that's how you act with me. God, it hurt to see you do it again." It might have been Ranma's imagination, but she thought she heard a catch in his voice. "Because I know you don't mean it, Ranma."

"I'm so sorry, Ryoga" Ranma managed, wishing she could see his features – but at the same time, she was happy he couldn't see hers. "I can't help it. I want to remember, I really _do_, but it's just not happening. What if I just stay this way?"

"You could leave me and Sachiko... I know you could. But I don't think that would make you or anyone else happy. We could be happy again, if I'm careful and you're patient."

Ranma didn't know what to say, so she kept quiet, silently allowing herself to buy some time in the folds of his shirt. Still, she couldn't seem to work up much anxiety in this position. She didn't even have to see him as she hurt him, that totally devastated expression that she hated so much.

"At least... we could... give it a try, Ranma..."

Seeing him didn't seem to matter; she could picture that look. She worried her lower lip between her teeth. "Damn it, you don't know what you're asking me." She noticed that, together, they were warm, and that she felt suddenly a little sleepy. She wondered if she'd gotten enough rest the night before. It was as if all of her tension had left her, and left her feeling a little bewildered.

"I'm asking you to give me some small assurance that you haven't completely forgotten I'm alive," Ryoga countered softly.

Ranma shook her head. "You're just trying to guilt me into this, aren't you?" she inquired with a small, strained laugh, finally drawing slightly away.

Ryoga's features closed off like slamming doors, but his voice was wry. "That depends. Is it working?"

"I'm not sure," she managed, truthfully, her eyes catching his. _Why did he pull away? What did I do?_

"How did it feel?" he whispered, pulling her slightly closer for emphasis, his eyes going soft again, soft and determined.

"It... uh, it felt good," she admitted, placing one hand on the flat of his chest. "I got nothing against hugs." Her voice was hushed and solemn. "You? Did it feel right, like you remember?"

He smiled. "You're always the same, Ranma."

When her eyebrows twitched up wryly in surprise, he laughed. "Well, okay, so there are things that have changed over time." His smile widened as he examined her features closely. "But not much. You're adaptable, not fickle. On the inside, you're the same old Ranma."

Ranma's surprise must have been written on her features again, because he laughed softly. "Deny it if you can," he added.

"The same old me? You mean, a guy?" she retorted flatly.

"If you like," Ryoga returned placidly. "I don't mind."

For a minute, Ranma stared disbelievingly at him; then her eyes widened as she found no evidence of the lie in his eyes. "Y-y-you don't?"

Ryoga was obviously smothering mirth, but he shook his head solemnly for the redhead's benefit. "At first, yeah, it really bothered me. But, you know, we've been married for years, now. I got used to it a long while ago. Did you feel differently about me when I was P-chan?"

"Well... no. But that's not the same."

"It isn't?"

"It isn't, Ryoga, and you know it."

"Why not?"

_Because, despite what Akane would like to believe, a pig isn't the same thing as a man,_ Ranma quipped silently, still staring at him in quiet disbelief. "Because I don't have sex with P-chan," Ranma finally stated darkly. She eyed him grimly. "Do I?"

"N-No!" Ryoga stammered, looking totally thrown for the first time in the conversation. "Oh, all right, you have me. It was totally weird at first, Ranma, but you get used to anything if given time and some patience. I'll tell you about it some other time; the girls must be waiting downstairs."

Ranma nodded, realizing she was giving Ryoga a temporary reprieve before he had to tell their life story. "All right, but I'll be waiting."

Ryoga smiled at her, drew her in, and kissed her softly and on the lips, brief and familiar, as if proving to Ranma all over again that it was far from the first time he'd done so. "Okay," he replied. "And if you want to come and try being close tonight, get used to it again, I'll be up in our room, okay? I won't touch you."

When he released her, she stumbled back a few steps before finding her way to the door. She didn't know how she got down the two flights of stairs, but she managed to make her way to the living room.

Ranma rubbed her lips absently. "Damn!" she exclaimed to the living room in general. She paced the floor several times before plopping down unceremoniously onto the couch. _He kissed me! Ryoga Hibiki... kissed... me._

"Damn!" she said again.

"Damn is right," Nabiki intoned, crossing her arms over her chest. "That boy works fast!"

Ranma's head snapped up to regard the Tendo girls.

"Sure does," Akane said. She sniffed the air. "Do I smell Rocky Road?"

"Help yourself," Ranma told her, waving in the general direction of the kitchen.

"Don't mind if I do."

While Akane was raiding the freezer, Kasumi touched Ranma's arm lightly to get her attention. "Does this mean you've remembered who you are?" she inquired.

Ranma blushed. "Uh... no."

Akane stuck her head out of the kitchen, a look of utter surprise painted across her features. "Are you serious? Aw, man, I was right – you _are_ a pervert."

"It... it was one measley little kiss is all!" Ranma wrung her hands. "I mean, he's my husband, right? So it's okay!"

"It looked like a lot more than one measley kiss, Ranma," Nabiki accused.

"Sure did," Akane teased, emerging with some bowls of ice cream for herself and the others. "I think that this must say something about you, if I can only put my finger on it."

"Easy?" Nabiki offered.

"Not quite heterosexual?" Kasumi wondered thoughtfully.

"No, I was thinking more along the lines of... incredibly susceptible. Naive, if you will." Akane dug into her ice cream with gusto.

"Thanks. Thanks a lot," Ranma growled. "Glad I have girls like you around, to keep my spirits up in my time of trouble." She rolled her eyes. "I'm being punished for something I did in a former life, aren't I?"

"In a manner of speaking," Akane said grimly.

Ranma eyed her, but the youngest Tendo's eyes were firmly fixed to what was left of her Rocky Road.

"So how was your first kiss with Ryoga-kun?" Kasumi inquired, covering a suddenly awkward silence.

"Fine, I guess," Ranma replied noncomittally.

"Fireworks?" Nabiki wanted to know.

"Dunno..."

"Don't leave us hanging, Ranma," Akane cut in. "Tell us all the juicy details."

Ranma couldn't find any malice in her eyes, so she shrugged her shoulders in a nervous jerk. "We hugged and then he kissed me. A weird... uh... jolt... ran..." Ranma gestured obliquely to her whole body. She hunched her shoulders. "It was a little _too_ good... but it only lasted a second," she finished in a whisper.

"He just knows what you like, Ranma," Nabiki cut in. "You _have_ been married for almost five years now."

"That reminds me," Kasumi added abruptly, setting her spoon down. "Your five-year anniversary is on the twenty-fifth. He won't suppose you'll remember."

"I think you'd already gotten him something," Nabiki added. "I can help you look for it later on. I know all the best hiding-places in this house."

"Thanks, Nabiki," the redhead replied absently, scarcely hearing the middle Tendo daughter.

"So, what made you decide to jump his bones so soon?" Akane continued, a little snidely. "I know I told you to be nice to him, but I didn't suppose that Ranma Saotome, Man Amongst Men, would give in to another guy so easily."

"Akane, really," Kasumi chided.

"I mean, all this talk around being macho and girls being stupid and weak all those years was just a cover-up, I guess," the dark-haired Tendo continued blithely. "I guess you really liked being a girl all along, didn't you?"

Ranma twitched.

"Don't tell me that you actually liked _him_ all along...?" Akane trailed off suggestively.

This was finally too much for the silent redhead, who twitched again before standing and whirling on the other woman. "NO! No, I _didn't_, thank you very much! It disgusts me! HE disgusts me! I... I _HATE_ him! He..."

In a hazy state of equal parts terror and misery, Ranma realized that tears were welling up in her eyes and coursing down her cheeks. _Damn it! Damn it!_

"Oh, Ranma..." Akane put both hands on Ranma's shoulders, watching her cry for a second before drawing her into a hug. "I'm sorry! I... I was only teasing. I'm a jerk. I'm a world-class jerk. I really thought you were okay..."

"...but you were just keeping up appearances like you always do..." Nabiki finished with a sigh. "Why do you do that, Ranma?"

Kasumi pressed a full bowl of chocolate ice cream into her hands; Ranma stared at it blankly, like it held all the secrets to the universe within its creamy depths. "It's not even true," she protested with a small laugh, wiping under her eyes with the heel of her hand. "And... that might be even worse. He kissed me, and I wanted to hate it, but it was okay. It was _good_. _He's_ good. He's good to me. And I'm a jerk and a selfish idiot... and I hate that, so I wanna hate him..."

"Ryoga _is_ a good man, so I'm certain he's not expecting very much of you at this point..." Kasumi replied soothingly.

"That's the worst part! If he... if he shoved me up against the wall and tried... something... I could hit him!" She punched into her hand for emphasis. "But... he won't do that. He's waiting. He's waiting for me."

"So why don't you try it?" Nabiki inquired with her usual complete lack of affectation, and Ranma wasn't certain if she was joking or not. "Honestly, Ranma, he's your husband. You have to have chosen him for _some_ reason."

"Yeah. He's the only one who comes close to me in martial arts; he's nice... and real cute. And dependable, once you attach a tracking device."

The girls stared at her blankly.

"He showed me the wedding video," she replied glumly. "It didn't help, except that it made me even more confused. I could have already started falling for him way back in high school, not even aware of it. I'm that kind of person. Love creeps up on me, and before I know it, I'm trapped."

Akane's smile drooped. "Trapped?"

Ranma's eyes slid up to her apologetically, then swung back down to her slowly melting ice cream. "Yeah. That's how it feels. Like... I'll do what he says no matter what, because he wants me to, and because I really want to make him happy... and that picture scares the _hell_ outta me..."

"That's love, though, Ranma-chan," Kasumi replied sweetly. "When it's reciprocal, he's doing the same thing for you. You lose a great deal of your power – but you gain most of his. There's no net loss, as Nabiki might say."

"Hey!" Nabiki elbowed her. "You don't get to make the money analogies."

Ranma smiled in spite of herself. "I guess." She shrugged. "I guess that if there were some kind of guarantee that I wouldn't lose myself totally, I'd... I'd k-kiss..." She stammered herself into silence. "I'd do it, okay?"

Akane giggled, but both Nabiki and Kasumi looked sad suddenly.

Kasumi pursed her lips in thought for a moment before finally replying. "Maybe you're just not ready for love of any kind, Ranma." Her smile looked pained. "You may be a little young for it. Love never comes with any guarantees... and it's rather common to feel like you're losing yourself..."

"You've just described all the _normal..._" Nabiki broke in. "Forgive me, poor choice of words – you've just described all the _usual_ issues around falling in love. This has nothing to do with your gender, Ranma. It's obvious you're just not ready." She pressed a finger to her lips in thought. "Maybe you should come right out and tell him so. Say: 'sorry, but I really do feel sixteen right now – I can't do this'. Less pain on both ends."

"It's normal to be worried about losing yourself?" Ranma demanded skeptically.

"Of course," Kasumi replied, eyebrows raised in faint surprise that Ranma would even question such a thing. "I would say it's the number-one worry for both genders. Being in love takes a lot of courage. You place yourself in the other person's hands. You give them everything you are. They have the ability to smash you to pieces. And... sometimes they do." She shook herself free of a sudden sadness. "But if you go in knowing that danger, you're like a soldier or a warrior, going into battle knowing you won't come out again – not the same, in any case. Love is a very serious thing."

"Speaking of serious, the temperature in this room has dropped ten degrees since we started this conversation," Akane interjected. "All this talk about love and battlefields reminds me of a song..."

"No, no! Don't sing!" Nabiki pleaded.

"Well..." Akane considered. "Only if I get to change the subject. I'll say one more thing, though." She turned to Ranma. "_Don't_ skirt around Ryoga like you did with me and Ukyo and Shampoo back then. I understand you were trying to spare us, but it doesn't work out that way. Gather your bravery together and tell him one way or the other. Or there will be serious repercussions. Got me?"

Ranma opened her mouth to say that there was no way Akane could ever beat her before realizing that Akane had probably gotten a lot better in six years whereas she... had not. _Hmm, maybe I'll try sparring her later. But for now..._ "Sure, Akane. Whatever you say."

"So, how's the baby, Ranma?" Akane inquired, following through on her promise to change the subject.

"Oh, she's great. Although... you know, Akane, I think that Sachiko is going to be a real tomboy when she grows up," Ranma replied.

"Well, that's a good thing, Ranma," Akane replied neutrally. "You wouldn't want her to be the kind of girl that sits on the sidelines, would you?"

"Of course not. It's just funny how she's turning out a lot more like you than like me."

"How's that?" Akane inquired, smiling and looking interested.

"She said her first word today."

The girls' reactions were far more enthusiastic than Ranma would have anticipated. "Wow, Ranma, that's incredible!" Nabiki cried. "So early! What a smart little girl she's turning out to be."

"How lovely!" Kasumi exclaimed. "And I suppose it was 'mama'?"

"No... 'baka'." Ranma slipped her first spoonful of watery ice cream into her mouth. It was delicious, even though her stomach was a mess.

Akane frowned. "Don't call my sister a baka, hentai."

"No... I mean that's her first word: 'baka'."

Nabiki blinked. "You're kidding, Hibiki."

"Nope. 'Baka'." Ranma looked at Akane pointedly and raised an eyebrow.

Akane suddenly caught the implication and blushed beet-red. "Well... I... I mean... It's not my fault!"

The picture of the stammering Akane was so amusing that Kasumi and Nabiki joined Ranma in laughter. Finally Akane joined in too.

The door creaked open and Ukyo slipped inside. "Hey. Sorry I'm late."

"Doesn't anyone knock in this house?" Ranma wondered. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, Ucchan."

Ukyo grinned, shutting the door quietly behind her. "Well, _you_ sure look a lot better. Less like you're walking to the gallows," she commented. "And none of us knock, at your request. You said that there's always a chance that the baby's sleeping. I figure, at nine fifteen, that chance is very good." She sniffed the air. "Rocky Road!"

"Help yourself," Ranma repeated gamely. "Anybody else coming over? Kodachi? Shampoo?"

There was a sudden and uncomfortable silence. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Kodachi's long gone," Nabiki replied. "She tried to hurt you when you were pregnant. Needless to say, Ryoga tried to hurt her in return, and had far better success. She didn't die, but she came awfully close. After that, Kuno had her moved to another country. He was mortified. I think that was his way of saying he'd had her committed, though I haven't looked into it." Nabiki thoughtfully licked her ice cream spoon.

"And Shampoo?" Ranma wanted to know. "She didn't try to hurt us, right?"

"No," Kasumi answered. "Shampoo-chan was always a nice, if somewhat misguided young lady. I'm afraid that she moved back to China."

"It was too bad," Akane commented thoughtfully. "She always was a lot of fun."

Ukyo nodded. "Yeah. One messed up chick, but a lot of fun."

Ranma stared at them. "Right. Way I remember it, you three were at each other's throats more times than not."

Ukyo grinned at Akane. "Ah, those were the days."

Ranma couldn't help but grin bemusedly in return.

Nabiki rifled through a large plastic bag she'd brought. "Tonight's theme is kickass redheads," she said with a grin, overturning the bag and allowing several VHS tapes and DVDs to spill out.

"Is there more ice cream?" Akane wanted to know.

"Screw the ice cream," Nabiki declared. "Is there any liquor in this house?"

"Hear, hear!" Ukyo cried, gesturing with her spoonful of Rocky Road.

"Let me see." Kasumi rose and moved into the kitchen.

Ranma gazed around the company. "We're not gonna get _drunk_, are we?"

Akane shrugged. "Depends," she replied, "on how good the night's going."

"Or how _bad_," Ukyo agreed. "I'll go for _Long Kiss Goodnight_ if Ranchan will."

"Me too," Akane chimed in.

"Yes, girls, we _know_," Nabiki said, with her usual wry grin, "but which _movie_ do you want?"

Akane hit her older sister with a throw pillow until she relented.

"All right, all right. I guess Geena Davis pretending she's a hardass is on my faves list anyday."

"Kasumi, what do you say?" Akane called into the kitchen.

"Oh, my... well, it _does_ have a lot of violence..."

"Neechan," Akane whined.

"But the overall theme is quite pleasant. _Long Kiss Goodnight_ it is."

Akane clapped and popped the tape quickly into the VCR, while Nabiki made a grab for the remote and hit the fast-forward button.

"Nabiki!" the youngest Tendo exclaimed. "You know I like the previews!"

"This movie is _years_ old. You've seen all of these movies already, you realize."

"She's right, sugar."

"Yes, but it's _nostalgic_," Akane moaned.

Kasumi returned from the kitchen holding several small cups and the sake which Ranma had served earlier. "Only the hard stuff, wouldn't you know it?"

Ranma almost could have sworn that Kasumi didn't sound very upset about this at all. The eldest Tendo had a smile on her face that seemed like it should belong to Nabiki: wry, with some secret amusement only she held.

"What's the weirdest part of all of this, Ranma?" she inquired, pouring Ranma some sake.

"Weirdest? Aw, man, that's a toss-up," Ranma admitted. "I would have to think about it for awhile."

"Mmm, well, we _do_ have all night," Ukyo filled in, leaning forward to pause the tape, then casually draping an arm around Akane's shoulders.

For some reason, this seemed to irritate the other girl, who stood abruptly. "I'll get snacks."

Ukyo looked pained for a moment, then rolled her eyes, as though Akane's behavior was no more than she expected. "What?" she demanded when she realized all eyes were on her.

"Oh, _nothing_," Nabiki murmured. "It just seems like my little sister's being as stubborn in this romance as in her first."

Ukyo flushed in embarrassment, her eyes swinging to the redhead. "Welll..." she extemporized. "She's, er, _reluctant_ to uh... commit... because of..."

"Let me get this straight," Ranma suddenly cut in. "You. And her!"

"Welcome to the party, Ranma," Nabiki intoned. "The rest of us have been here for awhile, now."

"But... but..."

Kasumi smiled cheerfully and refilled Ranma's glass. The redhead gazed at it for a moment, then downed it in one gulp.

"Whassa matter with us?" Ranma demanded, after choking briefly. _This stuff is awful!_ "I mean, you, an' me, an' Akane an' Ryoga... aren't we all switched around the wrong way?"

"'Wrong'?" Ukyo quoted dangerously.

"S-sorry." Ranma wasn't a genius when it came to social situations, but she had an excellent instinct for sensing when she'd landed in dangerous territory. It arose from living with three teenaged girls for a year; but she had mostly Akane to thank.

"I think it's because of you, Ranma," Kasumi stated blithely, refilling Ranma's cup. "I mean, seeing you switch... just like that..." She snapped her fingers. "Well, it makes it hard to take gender so... er, seriously."

"Let's not put it all on Ranchan," Ukyo advised. "I mean, there's me, too. Dressed like a guy for so long, talked like a guy, walked like a guy; I even got the mannerisms right. Heh. 'Man'nerisms."

Akane, returning from the kitchen with a laden plate, snorted.

"Anyway, then there's Tsubasa and Konatsu, too. We grew up around freaks, Ranchan. Heck, we were the principal freaks at Furinkan ourselves."

"So that's your answer." Ranma raised her eyebrow as she crossed her arms under her breasts. "That's your grand explanation."

"Why is everyone stealing my schtick tonight?" Nabiki demanded of the room in general.

"It's my grand explanation, yes," Kasumi replied.

Ranma flushed as she realized whose idea that had been originally. Nobody intentionally argued with Kasumi.

"Besides, I think that seeing you and Ryoga work it out was something of an inspiration to me," Ukyo added sincerely, downing her sake.

Ranma choked on hers. "Eh!"

Akane was turning quietly, brilliantly red. She leaned forward, allowing her long, unbound hair to obscure her eyes. "Can we not talk about this, please?"

Ukyo frowned. "Now, Akane–"

"Don't 'now, Akane' me!" Akane quoted angrily, her head jerking up to reveal pink cheeks and suspiciously shiny eyes. "I said I didn't wanna talk about it, okay?"

Ranma blinked in surprise. "Hey, if I can deal with Ryoga, you can deal with her." She jerked a thumb in Ukyo's direction. "Hey, you got a girl, anyway. You got the better end of the deal."

Ukyo flushed, although it was hard to tell whether she was angry or embarrassed. "_Don't help me, Ranchan,_" she warned darkly.

"Oh, I see," Akane was continuing. "So Ryoga's someone you have to 'deal with', is that it? He's a burden on you, then? So glad to hear that it was worth it!"

"So glad to hear that _what_ was worth it, Akane-chan?" Nabiki's voice was soft and slightly wondering, and Ranma knew that she, at least, had already figured out what Akane meant.

"This whole thing! Everything I did!" Akane sprang to her feet. "All that time I spent with your mother, convincing her that honor meant more than just some imaginary picture she had in her mind! All those letters I sent Dad, begging him to come home! All the time I spent reassuring myself that you were at least in good hands, that you loved him, that he'd take care of you like I wanted you to be taken care of! All the time I spent _getting_ _over you!_ All the time with Ukyo..."

Ranma gaped at her, spectacular in her anger, and realized that she'd actually missed the sight of a furious Akane. _Who would have thought...?_ Her eyes caught Ukyo's, to find that the chef was staring back at her with more anger and hatred than Ryoga ever had. Ranma was Ranma, and so she remained indecisive as to who to console first. As usual, the decision was lifted from her hands after she'd waited long enough.

"Akane-chan," Ukyo snapped.

That seemed to lift the dark-haired girl out of some spell. Akane blinked in surprise, and the flush of anger shifted alarmingly to the pallor of someone in shock. "R-Ranma... I didn't mean..." She gazed at her sisters for help, but Kasumi was staring at her blankly, and Nabiki was in the midst of downing her entire sake.

Akane dropped to kneel in front of Ranma. "Oh, no. You mustn't think I... oh, _blast!_ I didn't mean it at all. I mean, about loving you, of course... I just... that was very selfish of me."

"Selfish?" Ranma could think of many adjectives to describe Akane's outburst, but selfish was not among them.

"Because I'm thinking of how much this puts _me_ out... when you and Ryoga have to be in hell. And because when I did those things I did them freely, not to use it against you later. I'm... I must be... I'm tired, or something..."

Ranma suddenly understood. She'd thought it was strange when Akane had told her to be kind to Ryoga, and how much the other girls had been pushing her to stay with him. Now she realized that they had worked as hard as she and Ryoga had to make their relationship work. Her marriage with Ryoga and the birth of her child must have been a real group effort, with each woman before her campaigning on her behalf.

Akane had been selfish, but in a strangely unselfish way: she wanted Ranma and Ryoga to stay together because of how hard she herself had worked to allow them their happiness.

"Ranma... Ranma, say _something_..."

Ranma smiled at her. "Thanks, I guess."

"Eh?"

"Thanks, everyone." Ranma bowed slightly in the direction of the seated girls. She grinned at Akane even more widely. "I wondered about Mom. She looked okay, happy even, in that video. So, you convinced her?"

Akane blinked. "Er... well, yes. We had a long talk, all night almost, about the nature of honor. I'd rehearsed with Nabiki beforehand." She shot Nabiki a wry, grateful look; Ranma could just imagine Nabiki bitingly berating her younger sister whenever she made a mistake. "We went through her definitions of honor, what it meant to be honorable, on a purely hypothetical framework, of course, but your mom kept interested. I mean, honor is her life." Kasumi tsked under her breath, as though she didn't quite approve of such a thing. "Anyway, I asked her if I could still be honorable if I slept with a woman."

Ranma stared. "You mean, you and Ukyo were together back then?"

"No, baka. I was talking about you, but I didn't want her to catch on. The result was that, after hemming and hawing, she said that there was no infringement on my honor in such a case – by her definitions of honor – unless I was married or engaged."

"Which you were."

"No, by that time, you and I hadn't been engaged for awhile," Akane clarified.

Ranma shook her head in amazement. "So you basically tricked her into it."

"Basically," Akane conceded, with a dip of her head.

"Tricking my mother is a dangerous thing," Ranma replied, recalling her mother's harsh stare, her swinging katana, her traditional ways.

Akane kept quiet and motionless, except for little darting apologies towards Ukyo, who sighed dramatically before smiling at the other girl in what Ranma took to be an encouraging fashion.

"Let's have some _artificial _drama now, shall we?" Nabiki wanted to know. She was waving the remote in the air.

"Yes, let's," Kasumi agreed.

As Ranma watched the redhead onscreen balance having a kid and being in love with being a tough, no-nonsense, chain-smoking bitch, he realized why Nabiki had chosen this one.

_Everyone sacrificed so much to make this happen... even me – even him... and now it's all up in smoke, isn't it?_

As Akane curled up to her on her left side and whispered, "I am so sorry, Ranma," the redhead thought back to the conversation she'd had with Ryoga. _What did you have to give up?_

Your gag reflex, she'd said, and regretted it. But it was probably true. She thought that, knowing Ryoga as she did, he'd probably wandered off somewhere to mentally beat himself up after their first kiss. _How could I do that,_ he'd be thinking, _it's Ranma, that's Ranma, not some ordinary girl._ And maybe, a long time afterwards, he might ask himself if he'd really enjoyed it, if it had been okay – and only that after a lot of inward reflection, after a great deal of pain and self-recrimination would he ever admit that he wanted to try it again.

And they'd both had to give up the girl on Ranma's arm, she of the beautiful smile, the volatile temper, the tomboyish ways. And she'd helped them leave her.

"You forgive me, don't you?"

Ranma nodded, placing one hand atop Akane's head. "'Course, Akane."

"Mmm." She snuggled more deeply into the redhead's shoulder as the television in front of them flashed with the light of a screen-wide explosion.

------

As the girls staggered out the door one by one, Ranma sent what she hoped were significant looks towards both Ukyo and Akane. Amidst giggles and promises to visit the next day, the quartet departed, Akane murmuring something apologetic as she leaned on Ukyo's shoulder.

Ranma shook her head, a half-smile on her face. Those two... if Ucchan could ever manage to tame Akane, they'd be good together.

She shook her head again, more roughly this time. _Good together? Ucchan... and Akane?_

Yeah, she decided with a hint of defiance. Sure. Her gaze traveled almost unwillingly to the steps. Sudden determination sparked in her eyes as she stomped upward, then twirled around to seat herself mid-flight. It was just too crazy, wasn't it? Too weird.

Only, what was 'weird' in her life? Weird meant nothing. Weird was changing gender depending on the weather forecast. Weird was panty-stealing geezers and murderous Amazons. Weird was a high school principal who had a pinapple in his hair and a ukelale in his hand.

Weird was _not_ sharing a bed with someone when all you planned on doing was falling asleep.

So berated, Ranma rose, continued up the stairs to the level where Akane, Nabiki, and Kasumi used to sleep. She paused at the second flight, feeling a churning in her stomach and a weakness in her knees that was from more than drink.

"Come on, idiot!" she ordered herself, ignoring the gibbering voice in the back of her mind demanding that she snap to her senses, that she was _wrong_, that she was _sick_...

Her courage firmed when she realized that the voice didn't sound at all like her. It sounded like her father.

"Come on!" she repeated, and ascended the final staircase.

Her hand shook as her hand pressed against the closed door. _You can still turn around now,_ her father said somewhere in her mind. _You can go back down the stairs and he'll never even know you were here._ _Your honor would be intact._

_Mom says that my honor _is_ intact,_ Ranma realized.

The voice was refreshingly silent.

_Hah!_ Ranma's smug smile evaporated as she realized she'd made it through the threshold.

Ryoga was sprawled out in the middle of the bed, snoring gently. He had his top off, she could see that much; she was praying that the parts covered by blankets were not similarly unadorned. Suddenly, this was seeming like a not-so-good idea. Besides, he was taking up three-quarters of the bed.

As if hearing her thought, Ryoga murmured something unintelligible and turned on his side, conveniently freeing up a great deal of space.

Gulping, she moved to the dresser to search for pyjamas. No way she was sleeping the way she normally did, in a sleeveless tee and boxers.

She stumbled over five or six obstacles on her way, cursing softly under her breath, but Ryoga's even breathing didn't even hitch. Shrugging out of her clothing while hiding behind the bedframe didn't do much for her confidence, but at least she felt like her privacy had been maintained. She realized that the pyjamas were Ryoga's when she stood and the sleeves fell over her hands, but she didn't care, so long as she was covered.

Ranma didn't think she'd been more terrified of cats than this. For a long while, she simply stood at the side of the bed, watching him breathe, pride and fear warring, keeping her immobile.

Finally, pride won over. Ranma scrambled down beside him, threw the blankets over her head and waited.

Wasn't he going to do anything?

_He's asleep, dummy. What is it that you think he's going to do?_

Ranma turned over to view him. Ryoga did indeed have pants on, drawstring cotton ones. He had half of his face in the pillow, and looked like he had to be suffocating. The absurd urge to giggle nearly overcame her; she supposed it had to be the drink. That, or Ryoga really was somehow hilarious, asleep. Maybe the situation itself was what was so funny.

Ranma relaxed as she slowly realized that he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. It felt a lot less threatening this way.

_Threatening?_ Ranma's brow furrowed as she recalled Ryoga saying that she was afraid of him. She hadn't understood at the time, but now she did, and had to agree: she was terrified. It wasn't that he could beat her in a fight. It was that he had the ability to make her see things she didn't want to see, and do things she'd never done before. He could change her mind with a smile and a kind word. And that was more than a little scary.

Ryoga murmured something again, before snorting and resuming his quiet snoring again. He was warm under the covers, she realized, snuggling down deeper. In sleep, his features were calm and relaxed, making him look strangely young, younger than she ever recalled him looking. Maybe he'd looked older to her because she used to see him angry all the time. That expression certainly didn't lend itself to youthfulness.

His hair was wild and mussed, like he'd spent a lot of time tossing and turning. Some of it was falling into his eyes, and his nose twitched as it tickled him.

Ranma sighed. Did she dare try it? Would he wake up?

Her fingers twitched as they reached out to shift the lock of hair.

Oh. It was soft.

Tucking it behind his ear, she lay one hand on the top on his head gently, the way she had with Akane. It felt nice under her hands, and he was warm. He was warm and alive beside her, and... and that seemed okay just now. On impulse, she swiped his hair out of the way, leaned forward, and kissed his forehead.

As though she'd woken from some hazy dream, she blinked in startlement, whirled frantically around and placed her hand over her now-pounding heart.

_Oh, God, Ranma, you idiot,_ her father said sharply. _What have you done?_

------

Author's Notes

------

Mou! This one took a lot of doing. Having Ranma come to like Ryoga gradually was the real challenge of this story; and, since this chapter was the turning point for Ranma, it was especially long and hard. (Whoops! No pun intended.)

It only came to me at the last second, that Ranma's concerns about falling in love with Ryoga were actually concerns that everybody has. I think the conversation with the girls is probably what most of what allows Ranma to take this next step, along with the fact that she realizes how easily she is reassured by him and his presence, while feeling anxious and unsettled at the same time.

This chapter went through a startlingly large number of permutations. Some of what was once here will indubitably be turned into extras, particularly large chunks of the girls' conversation. I initially had them playing a variation on 'truth-or-dare' that I remember from undergrad, but it didn't quite work. Still, it's fun, and it provides a great deal of insight into the lives of latter-day Akane, Ukyo, Nabiki, and Kasumi, so it's probably worth including as an extra, for anyone who's interested.

I have to say one more thing. Remember when I said that I only later recalled that this story had two different versions, that I later decided to merge them? (Someone remarked: 'somehow that doesn't sound like the truth', lol – but actually, I _am_ that absent-minded.) This story managed to completely startle me again. It's hard to explain much without revealing plot, but an issue with the 1998-story was resolved by the 2004-story completely and utterly by accident on my part. Maybe I should have just said that it's all my own brilliance (heh!) but honestly something just slid into place and altered the entire story, most likely for the better. I am utterly dumbstruck. Sometimes, things just come together...

On a sidenote, Juketsuzoku-Fu is moving again... thank goodness. It felt really mired there for awhile. I'm on Chapter Four now, or Five, depending on how I break it up. The downside is that it's definitely looking like a trilogy at this point.

Keep reading, keep writing, everyone!


	10. Vulnerability

Okay, I've given up on the synopses except for small reminders – the previous evening Ranma had a real breakdown, crying on Ryoga and saying she missed him. Ranma, Ryoga and the Tendos decided to visit a fair the afternoon before that.

* * *

TEN: 1998 

It was sunny. It was slightly cold. It was Saturday.

This meant a handful of things. It meant that, for Nabiki and Ranma and Akane, school was in session – but only for half the day. It meant that the fair would probably be packed, which had the additional implication that Ranma, Ryoga, and the Tendo sisters would encounter someone they knew.

It meant, in this particular instance, that Ryoga had woken early. He was outside in the slightly misty morning, doing kata and attempting to calm himself, something he didn't normally do. Usually he used his anger when he fought. As his kata became more and more precise the more closely he focused on thinking nothing and breathing properly, he began to realize that it was how Ranma swept the floor with him in their battles: the pigtailed boy would get him angry, and then proceed to take advantage of Ryoga's resulting sloppiness.

Was this just an extention? A new and more devious way to keep him off-balance?

Nah. Ranma wasn't that canny. That's all there was to it.

Which would mean that he really _had_ been in that much pain. Which didn't quite fit in with Ryoga's normal ideas concerning the workings of the universe. Briefly, he played out their encounter in his mind:

_Ranma grips my sleeve, hard. Won't let go, even though I move slightly away._

Ryoga shifted position, bending both knees so that his body was low to the ground, fist extended.

_Then, she pulls herself closer using that grip. She puts both arms around me and pulls. A hug. Her eyes close; her hands move to press against my chest._

Ryoga slid his feet together, bringing his hands down in a ready position; then, he repeated his original move in a slightly different direction.

_Her hand begins to grip my shirt, hard, again. She starts hitting me and telling me she hates me._

_But she doesn't hit hard._

Ryoga executed a pair of high blocks, followed by an open-hand strike.

_Then she starts trembling all over and... screams._

That scream was like breaking glass and fingernails on a chalkboard and like... like... He'd never made that sound, before. He didn't know anybody who had ever made that sound. It was the sound of someone who's lost something far more important than their way.

Ryoga realized he had stopped moving, and began the kata again from the beginning.

_Then she does that calming breathing. _

Ryoga slid to the first position again, attempting to think without attaching feeling.

_Then she says she misses me._

Which didn't make sense in the slightest. Shift to the second position; put your back into it, that punch was weak!

_Then she says she's sorry, gets up and..._

And nothing. And turned some kind of switch in her soul. Something that allowed her to wash dishes when she'd rather just go ahead and jump off a convenient cliff or slit her wrists.

_Yeah. That makes sense. Great, glad it's all sorted out._

When he opened his eyes, Ranma was standing in the doorway. "Whoa. Awful. What's up with _you_?"

"That's my line," Ryoga murmured. "What was the matter last night? You can't just go and do that to me and not say a word. And, you 'miss me'. What's that supposed to mean?"

Ranma grinned sunnily – his new grin, the one that all too obviously concealed something. "What – _dreaming_ about me, now?"

"Dreaming?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, P-chan. What exactly went on, huh? I'd love to hear about it."

Ryoga paled. "Uh... n-no, that's okay."

Akane grabbed hold of Ranma's schoolbag and began to drag him out of the dojo. "C'mon, baka, we're going to be late. And stop teasing Ryoga!"

Ryoga slid into a seated position in the middle of the floor, his mouth slightly open, as the pair made their departure.

_A dream. A dream! Well, that explains it._

As a dream, what could it mean? That he saw Ranma as hiding something? in pain? And what could 'I miss you' mean? It was pretty cryptic; even for a dream, it didn't make much sense.

Thank goodness he hadn't said something _really_ stupid, like, "what had you crying last night?", or flippant, like, "next time you want a hug, go to one of your many _girl_friends." That would've been more than his life was worth.

* * *

Akane snuck a peek at him from the corner of her eye. "That haircut suits you," she finally said.

Ranma gave her a small smile. "Thanks. Kasumi evened it out. It's real short for my girl form, though; hope I don't look too weird."

Akane shrugged nonchalantly. Picturing the cut on Ranma's girl form, she would think that it'd actually look really nice.

Her curiosity was satisfied as the perennial old woman with washwater splashed the cursed martial artist. "Mou, it's too _cold_ for that," Ranma breathed.

Akane snorted. She was right. The cut, even shorter and more 'boyish' than her own, simply made Ranma look like even more of a knockout by revealing her wide eyes and slender neck. "Here," Akane said, taking off her dress's jacket and handing it to the shivering redhead.

"But, Akane..."

"I'm not wet, am I?"

Ranma gratefully took the jacket and threw it around her shoulders. "Well, that's a _little_ bit better."

"Ah! The sun rises twice in one morning, astounding the universe! The pigtailed goddess and Akane Tendo are twin stars in the heavens!"

Ranma broke into Tatewaki Kuno's introductory sphiel. "Ah, Kuno-sempai? I'm afraid you have it wrong. I'm not your 'pigtailed goddess'. I'm Ranma. Ranma Saotome."

Kuno frowned. "Yes, but isn't that her name as well?"

"Indeed. I'm her oldest sister, Ranma."

"You're telling me that there are _five_ of you, now?" Kuno's frown had deepened.

"Oh, no, of course not!" Ranma announced.

"Not again," Akane murmured, putting her hand to her forehead.

"There are six!" Ranma announced, one finger in the air as if to make a point.

Kuno facefaulted, then dragged himself slowly upright. "Allow me to make a prediction. This sixth sibling is a boy, yet has hair just like yours..."

Ranma nodded. "Why, how did you know?"

"...and his name is... let me guess... _also_ Ranma."

Ranma nodded again, more eagerly this time. "You're catching on!"

"So exactly how many siblings do you have?"

"I told you: five."

Kuno was now leaning on his bokken, as though he was so weary of this game that he needed its support. "Yes, but the lovely and somewhat fictiously bubbly Ranma-chan informed me that she was one of four. Now you tell me you are one of six."

Ranma tilted her head to one side, obviously deeply in thought. "Well, Ranma-chan, as you call her, has always had a bit of a poor memory. It's entirely possible that she's forgotten the two of us. She was just a little kid when we moved away, after all. But now me and Ranma have come back to help our little bro and sisters defeat Ranma!"

"Well... if thou needst aid in your struggle, I would be more than willing to oblige," he replied hesitantly. "Meet me after school, then, if thou wouldst require it."

Ranma nodded solemnly. "Will do. After all, I've always thought of you as a little brother, kind of."

"A what!" Kuno demanded. "You don't know me!"

"Certainly not. But from what I've heard from Ranma-chan and your pigtailed goddess, you're a paragon of virtue, if a bit misguided. So, if you need _my_ help, I'll be there for you, too. Especially with that whole getting a girl thing. I'm told you need some help in that arena."

Ranma strode away with Akane in tow, while Kuno sputtered incoherently.

"Ranma, that was mean," Akane whispered.

"Mean? You do realize that you're talking about the guy who eggs on the hentai horde every morning?"

Akane considered this. "On second thought, screw with the bastard until he doesn't know up from down."

"Will do," Ranma replied, cracking her knuckles.

* * *

It took nearly halfway through her lesson before Hinako Hinomiya realized that the unthinkable had happened. 

Ranma was actually paying attention.

Not in a psuedo-interested way, or an apple-polishing way, but in the way that a moderately studious pupil might: with a mild look of interest in her eye and a pen in her hand.

It was almost enough to give the age-shifting sensei hives. She was even more shocked when she asked a question, and Ranma answered her. Not just answered her, but answered her correctly, and with more than a little arrogant ease, as though the entire business were slightly beneath him.

And yesterday he'd been such a delinquent! And after that stupid attack, she'd been unable to transform for the rest of the day...

Akane Tendo seemed preoccupied, but she often did, these days. Ukyo didn't appear to have any idea that something was wrong. Similarly, Hiroshi and Daisuke, and Sayuri and Yuka, appeared to be having a pretty normal day. They were their usual selves.

Which meant that some new kind of hell had visited Akane or Ranma or both, but nobody really knew about it save the pair of them.

Interesting.

During break, she watched Ranma approach her with mild nervousness. He might try the pressure points again; he might be attempting to destroy her chi-sucking abilities for all time. She readied a coin, just in case.1

"Sensei," Ranma began hesitantly, running her fingers through her short hair, "I have a question for you. It's a personal one. Do you mind?"

Hinako blinked, pocketing the coin with a flourish and a flash. "Personal? Well, we'll see just _how_ personal, before I answer."

Ranma smiled apologetically. "When you look like a little girl, do you feel like one, too?"

Hinako's eyes widened. She understandably leapt to quite the wrong conclusion. "Problems with the curse, Ranma?"

Ranma colored, glancing down at her still-female body. "Oh! Uh, no... just wondering how you deal with it... changing your age."

The English teacher paused, considering her response. Not that she believed Ranma's lame excuse in the slightest. She began to speak in slow but solemn English. If you can understand me, then you can get your answer, she replied. I feel different in my little girl form. Definitely different. But mostly it's in the way that people treat me. I think.

Ranma nodded slowly. Uhm... same here, I guess. But I really was asking about the age thing. Do you ever find yourself thinking like a little girl thinks, when you're in your adult form?

Hinako paused. Not only had Ranma responsed – in relatively passable English – she thought she might have found out what her students were so disturbed over. "S-sometimes," she murmured. "I suppose. But that's mostly for show... it's just easier to behave as others expect you to, sometimes."

Ranma pondered that for a moment quietly, then nodded. "I see." She shrugged and made her way back to her seat.

"Hey, Ranchan. What's up?"

Ranma smiled at Ukyo. "Hiya, Ucchan. Not that much. You?"

"Going to the fair, tonight?"

"Yes," Akane cut in. "With me."

"And Ryoga," Ranma added.

"Ohh. That jerk. He's willing to be the third wheel, huh?"

Akane blinked at Ukyo. "Huh?"

"Well, you'd think he'd invite me! I'd do the same for him, you know," Ukyo growled.

"Do you wanna come?" Ranma inquired, seeing the only polite way to ease Ukyo's suffering.

Ukyo perked up immediately. "Sure! It'll be great."

Akane nodded, a little reluctantly. "Yeah. Fun city."

"Two guys, two girls," Ukyo murmured. "Sounds almost like a double-date!" She elbowed Akane. "Planning on finally making a move with Ryoga, Akane?"

Akane buried her face in her arms and murmured something incomprehensible. She'd long since given up on keeping Ukyo from thinking that she and Ryoga would make the perfect couple.

"Five girls, one guy," Ranma countered absently.

"Huh?"

Ranma straightened. "What? Oh. I mean, Kasumi and Nabiki are coming; and I'm going to the fair as a girl."

"What?" Ukyo demanded. "Why?"

"Because I can eat a lot, score free treats and play fun games," Ranma replied colorlessly. "Why else?"

Akane shrugged. "Weren't you at the last fair? Ranma always goes as a girl."

"Hmm." Ukyo shrugged, too. "All right. We'll be the prettiest three girls there, right, Ranchan?"

Ranma colored slightly and elbowed Ukyo. "Don't embarrass me!"

Ukyo blinked, not having received the reaction she'd expected. The redhead's behavior was a lot like her own when Ranma had first called her 'cute', if a bit less emphatic. She decided to test the waters further. "What are you going to wear?"

Ranma tilted her head to one side. "Dunno. Have to see what I've got. Maybe pale blue or dark green; I like them the best."

Ukyo perched atop the desk next to Ranma's. "Jewelry?"

"I don't like jewelry all that much," Ranma replied absently. "I always lose it. You know that. Remember when that... bracelet...?" The redhead's bright blue gaze shifted from the blackboard to Ukyo's confused features. "Whoops."

"Whoops?" Ukyo inquired.

"I sort of forgot who I was talking to for a second," Ranma replied.

"You _forgot_! What's that supposed to mean?" The okonomiyaki chef was justifiably miffed. "And you _always_ lose it? Just how often have you been wandering around as a girl, lately, anyway?"

Akane shook her head at Ukyo from behind Ranma's back, an obvious request to hold out for later information.

Ranma, however, caught the motion. "What, we've got secrets now?"

Akane fumed. "No, _you've_ got secrets. Me and Ukyo are just having a friendly chat." She grabbed the okonomiyaki chef by the arm and stormed out of the classroom.

Ranma took in a deep breath, let it out slowly. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her ankles up on the desk. "Boy, it really is the bad old good old days..."

"Hey, Ranma!"

Ranma blinked as Hiroshi and Daisuke poked their heads into view, causing her to bring her chair forward in surprise, bonking heads with Daisuke.

"Owww..."

"What's up with the girly getup today, man?" Hiroshi inquired once his two friends had stopped rubbing their foreheads and moaning.

"Got splashed," Ranma replied shortly.

"And?"

"And nothin'. Got splashed; end of story."

"Does this mean you're dateable?" Daisuke inquired.

Ranma casually kicked him in the face.

"Well, he had that coming," Hiroshi admitted. "Still, I gotta admit that it's weird for you to spend all day as a girl unless you've got some kinda reason."

Ranma blinked. "Well, I _am_ planning on making a spectacle of Kuno. And I need this form to do it."

"Spectacle?" Daisuke wondered, dragging himself up off the ground with very little trouble.2 "Of Kuno."

"That ain't no stretch," Hiroshi chuckled. "He's a spectacle of himself!"

Ranma chuckled. "Nah, this is gonna be in the above and beyond category."

"Whoa, you gotta let us in on it," Daisuke urged. "C'mon, man, he's such an ass. I'd love to get back at him for the way he treats us all."

Ranma shook her head. "This is my own, personal revenge. Get your own."

"Aw, you're no fun," Daisuke grumbled.

"And speakin' of _fun_," Hiroshi broke in, "bet you're going to that fair with Akane, huh?"

"_Tell_ me you guys haven't done it _yet_," Daisuke crowed.

Ranma flushed. "No, we ain't _done it_. But I'm going to the fair with her. And Ryoga, and Ukyo and Nabiki and Kasumi..."

"And us!" Hiroshi broke in. "C'mon, you _gotta_ change that girl to guy ratio. That's you and Ryoga with four girls!"

"Correction," Ranma sighed, "it's Ryoga and five girls. I always go to fairs as a chick. Free food, get to play all those games..."

Daisuke sighed. "Sometimes you're really lucky, ya know that?"

Ranma blinked at him in surprise.

"Lucky!" Hiroshi broke in. "C'mon, to change into a girl all the time?"

"Mmm, that body," Daisuke enthused. "Be able to pick up chicks pretty good with it I bet."

Hiroshi hit his friend before Ranma got the chance. "What are you _on_!"

Ranma began to laugh, and then guffaw. Tears streamed from her eyes.

"What's wrong with _him_?" Daisuke demanded, jerking his thumb towards the hysterical martial artist.

"Beats me."

* * *

Somehow word got around. It always does, at Furinkan. 

Thus, at high noon, when Saturday school ended, there was a massive gathering in the courtyard to see the supposed true humiliation of Tatewaki Kuno. No one really wanted to miss it; not to mention the fact that Nabiki was selling good things to eat and drink, like hot cocoa, popcorn, and pocky to dip. Ukyo had industriously set up her grill, as well, and at least as many people were there for the food as the company.

Ranma, who'd forgotten how high school could be with rumormongering – especially where Nabiki was involved – was more than a little surprised to see the huge crowd.

They were more than a little surprised to see Ranma, considering that she was in a long, white, medieval-looking dress, and suddenly had a lot more hair.

"Pigtailed girl! How I have longed to see thee!" Kuno exclaimed at her appearance. "It... _is_ you, isn't it?"

Ranma nodded enthusiastically. "The one and only, Kuno-sempai!"

"Praise be. Only thou can put to rest these... er, restless stirrings in my soul! Is it true indeed that thou hast..." He began counting on his fingers. "That thou hast five siblings?"

Ranma nodded. "Of course!"

"All named Ranma?"

"Yes. My parents were weirdos."

"No crap," Akane murmured, buying hot peanuts from her sister.

"I... see," Kuno replied. "Your eldest sister told me to meet her here so that we could discuss the overthrow of the evil sorceror."

"Oh, no, you're mistaken, Kuno-sempai!" Ranma gushed. "You're here to help us _fight_ him! Only you are the true warrior who can overcome his evil! It's been foretold!"

"Foretold! Ah, surely the heavens carry a message of victory to your ears!"

"Oh?" Ranma shook her head. "No, Kuno-sempai. You lose. That's why this is so hard for me." She examined the ground, affecting a tear.

"What! It cannot be!" Kuno was thunderstruck... as shown by the roll of thunder which preceded his dramatic lightning.

Ranma threw her arms around him and wept. "Oh, Kuno-sempai!" she wailed.

"Oh, pigtailed goddess!" he exclaimed, holding her tightly.

"Exactly _whose_ humiliation were we supposed to be witnessing here?" Hiroshi wondered.

Ranma drew away from Kuno's embrace. "But to prove your love for me... you'll fight anyway, won't you?"

Kuno blinked down at her. "B-but of course! Though I be doomed to die, I would fight for the freedom of your soul and that of your brothers and sisters!"

"Oh, K–" Ranma began.

"Though I shall burn in the evil fires of his sorcerous flames, I shall protect you, my goddess from heaven!"

"Whoa," Akane breathed.

"It's like he's drunk on his own testosterone!" Nabiki commented, a half-eaten stick of pocky hanging out of her mouth.

"Wow, K –" Ranma began again.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear–"

"That's enough, Kuno-sempai!" Ranma snapped. "I mean... uh, thank you so much! You're my hero! My savior!" She affected a calculating demeanor for a moment. "If you weaken him enough, me and Ranma and Ranma and Ranma and Ranma might be able to finish him off!"

Kuno's head raised; his back straightened. This was obviously one of the proudest moments of his life.

"There are some tokens I can give you that might help you hold your own against his sorcerous wiles," Ranma continued.

"Ah, a token from my love!" Kuno exclaimed, obviously, as Nabiki had intimated, drunk on... something. Perhaps the fact that the pigtailed goddess was asking directly for his aid for the very first time.

Ranma cheerfully gave him a dead fish. Halibut, to be precise.

Kuno blinked down at it. "Huh?"

"Don't be deceived by appearances, Tatewaki-chan," Ranma intoned. "This is a _magic _fish. With it you will go on an important quest."

"A quest!"

"Just like a little puppy dog 'bout to be taken for a walk," Ukyo observed, watching a small trail of drool hang off of Kuno's lips.

"Indeed." Ranma produced a scroll from the same place from which she'd procured the smelly fish: nowhere. "My sisters and myself compiled this list. Follow its instructions, and perhaps you will have enough magic to defeat even the evil sorceror! But return to your domicile by tomorrow's dawn, or the enchantment will dissolve. And you must complete your quest alone; no one may aid you."

Kuno accepted the fish and the scroll humbly. "I shall do my damndest for you, my lady!"

Tears sprung to Ranma's eyes. She clasped her hands in front of her. "Save me, and I will deliver you a kiss!"

Kuno twitched. "Truly!"

"Truly!" She kissed her hand and blew the smooch his way. Then, she moved back through the crowd, passing Nabiki's snack booth. "Like shootin' fish in a barrel," she said to the middle Tendo daughter with a roll of her eyes. "Give me some pocky and a hot tea, okay, Nabiki? Messing with idiots makes me hungry."

Nabiki obliged, barely noting that Ranma wasn't giving her any money in return.3

Akane, who was beginning to realize what the note must be about, felt like grabbing the redhead and shaking her. By the time she began to grasp the whole of it, Ranma had disappeared back into the school.

The youngest Tendo realized that Ranma was wearing the same dress she'd worn in Romeo and Juliet.

"Nasty," Akane whispered. "That was... nasty..."

Nabiki came to her senses just in time to take the next batch of money from a hungry crowd. "Keep in mind who Ranma's tricking, Akane."

Akane shook her head. "Even he doesn't deserve this – if it's half as bad as I think it is."

"Aw, c'mon, Akane. What could possibly be on that list that's worse than what he deserves?"

* * *

Tatewaki Kuno examined the list in his hands. It was long, written in a careful but rather masculine hand. Obviously, Ranma or Ranma had written it. 

The fish certainly was smelly. Of course, since it was obviously none too fresh, this was to be expected. Kuno eagerly unfurled the scroll.

_Brave and strong warrior,_ it began. _In order to defeat the evil Sorceror Saotome, you must have:_

_1) Dead, smelly fish (provided)_

_2) No clue_

Kuno frowned. How was he not supposed to have a 'no clue'?

_3) The proper garb. In order to perform this sacred quest, you must be wearing the proper garments. Go to Hokawa Street in Nerima prefecture and enter the establishment called 'Knight Mares'. Tell the salesclerk there your name, and then the following: "I am ready to accept the clothing of a true warrior." Place upon your body that which he gives to you._

Kuno nodded to himself. He had heard many times before that only certain garments might be worn during an imporant quest or ritual. Sometimes the clothing had to be new; other times, a certain color or even a certain cut. It was obvious that the pigtailed maiden and the other Ranmas had thought this over carefully; he approved.

In the sparkle of early afternoon, he quietly wandered to Hokawa Street. It seemed as though all of his life was coming together. The pigtailed goddess had, obviously with the aid of her sisters and brothers, broken free at least partially from her eldest brother's spell – enough to finally and sweetly implore his aid. All that was missing from the picture was a squire and a white steed.

So it was that he moved through the street on cloud nine, thunder booming and lightning striking occasionally behind him.

Finally he reached the store in question, seeing that it was filled with medieval style garb. "Ah! Surely this must be the place," he intoned, and entered.

What met his eye was something far more lovely than even he could have imagined. Armour, swords, gauntlets, and boots were side by side with romantic underskirts, lace-up ladies' slippers, gowns and dresses. After the stars faded from his eyes, Kuno went up to face the clerk. For a moment, he stared. "Don't I know you?"

Daisuke, who was a gamer on weekends and an occasional cosplayer, stood behind the counter. "I don't think so," he said, feigning confusion. "Do you shop here a lot?" He eyed Kuno's hakama. "Sure looks like you cosplay."

"No, foul knave! Ahem..." Kuno looked at his scroll. "I am ready to accept the clothing of a true warrior."

"Oh!" Daisuke leaned conspiratorally across the counter. "I see. Well, don't let the foul sorceror Saotome know that I gave you these. They're very... special. All right?"

Kuno nodded empatically, and accepted a bundle of clothing.

"And this, and this," Daisuke added, piling small boxes atop the stack. "All right. Cash, or charge?"

Kuno dug through his pockets and finally produced his wallet. Sighing, he parted with the last of the bills. Nabiki had really scraped him clean this week.

"Have fun!" Daisuke advised.

"Is there a changing room in this establishment?"

"'Round back," Daisuke told him blandly.

The manager came out from his office. "This little joke won't damage the boy permanently, will it?" he wondered in a soft voice.

"Ranma knows what he's doing. Hey, thanks, man. Really appreciate it."

"Just get that mail linked up by next Saturday!"

Dai nodded and exited the shop with a friendly wave at the proprietor. "Will do!"

The older man didn't bat an eye when Kuno exited the changing room. After all, he was the owner of a cosplaying shop and had seen such things before.

Kuno, however, was slightly more nonplussed. The garters itched, for one thing. Then there was all the lace. The hat would've been enough of a hassle without the wig. And the boots were just about impossible to walk in even if they didn't get in the way of the skirt.

Of course, there was the whole dressed as a girl thing, too.

The manager eyed Kuno professionally. "Not your color," he said, "but it _is_ a good cut for you."

* * *

"Ranma," Akane broke in hesitantly. 

The redhead turned to Akane. "Yeah, hon? What's up?"

Akane flushed. "Uh... about Kuno..."

"You aren't still going on about that, are you? He'll be fine. He's a big boy. You've got to stop worrying about us guys, Akane. I know it's your way of saying you care, but it's better to be there for somebody than to force them to rely on you."

"You were cruel," Akane said blandly.

"Huh?"

"Cruel. Malicious. I don't care what Kuno's done to us – that doesn't mean that we should hurt him back that bad. I'm upset with him _because_ I think what he did wasn't right! Why should we imitate him?"

After a moment's consideration, a small smile broke out on Ranma's face. "Yeah, Akane, you're probably right."

"Now I think – wait. What?"

"You're right," she repeated. Her face fell. "Maybe I went too far." She paused, deep in thought. "That or not far enough."

"What?"

Ranma's smile widened, but it was her unfeeling smile. "Don't you think there's method to my madness? I'm trying to get him to leave me alone! And, secondarily, you..."

"By telling him you need his help! You're not only playing on his delusions, Ranma, you're feeding them. And making him look like a first-class ass in the process."

"He does _that_ on his own." Ranma's smile disappeared. "Besides, we're not having this argument again."

Akane frowned. "I think I liked it better when you called me tomboy or built like a brick. At least then I could hit you."

"What's stopping you now?"

Akane turned to stare at him. "Saotome Ranma!"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "What? Lack of a reason's never stopped you before, ya know."

Akane flinched. "Ranma..." Her eyes hardened. "Fine! If that's how you feel..." She turned on her heel and ran away from the fence, off in the direction of Tofu-sensei's former practice. Ranma thought she might be crying.

The redhead turned to the bay and leaned against the chain link fence, staring off into the water. It was dark, even here where it was shallow. Seabirds flew above it off into the distance; suddenly, a bird swooped towards the water and caught a fish.

"Heh." Ranma was remembering the fish he'd given Kuno and wondering if it'd do its job.

But maybe it was too cruel. What right did she have to screw around with Kuno, anyway? Just 'cause he was a jackass sometimes – who around here wasn't a jerk at least part of the time? Ranma tossed a small stone across the water, watched it skip. Maybe it wasn't right of her to play with people like she was; maybe she should just try and ignore what she knew. Go with the flow.

Only, she didn't recall the flow. She was out of synch with Akane and Ryoga and Kuno and the Tendo sisters, and her father, too. She didn't see things the same way, didn't act like they supposed she should. She was a foriegner here, someone who scarcely spoke the language and knew the customs – not just a gaijin, but a gaijin pretending to be a native.

Ranma stared at the ocean a long time; too long. Her thoughts were lapsing into morbidity by the time she forced herself to rise, push herself off the rocky sand and back on the path home.

When she reached the Tendo household, Akane was still off – crying somewhere because of her – for the fifth time that week.

Ryoga, however, was home; and Kasumi was home. Nabiki was probably following Kuno's 'quest' in hopes it would make entertaining video material. The fathers? Could be plotting the next marriage escapade.

"Tadiama," Ranma said into the house.

"Okaeri nasai!" two voices replied.

When Ranma came into the kitchen he found an odd sight. Kasumi was holding a large, sharp carving knife in one hand and a daikon in the other. She was facing the wooden cutting board that she frequently used, and wearing an especially frilly pink apron.

There was nothing so surprising in this; but the fact that Ryoga was beside her, doing the same thing – wearing the Tendos' plain white apron – was enough to freeze Ranma in the doorway and make her heart begin pounding a little painfully.

"Akane, I..." Ryoga's gaze swung around to meet hers. "R-Ranma!" He seemed to want to put the cutting board, daikon and apron all out of sight at once.

Ranma stopped him. "No need, pig-boy. Already saw it all. And what's wrong with _cooking_, if I may ask?"

"This is a girls' apron," Ryoga finally replied blandly.

"Is it? Can't tell." Ranma took advantage of the situation and moved Ryoga around by the hips, as though examining for some kind of mark or tag. "Nope! Don't say 'girl' nowhere on it."

Ryoga looked slightly relieved. "Kasumi's teaching me how to cook," he managed a little guiltily.

Ranma wondered, not for the first time, where Ryoga had gotten his overblown ideas of manliness without any kind of male role model so far as she could see.

_Oh, wait a minute! _Ranma paled. _Could Ryoga's male role model be... me?_

"W-what are you making?"

Ryoga seemed even more flustered that she was interested in the recipe. "Um..."

"Daikon stew," Kasumi supplied quietly, her expression quietly puzzled as she watched Ryoga stammer around the smiling redhead.

"Daikon stew!" Ranma echoed. "Sounds good. I'm sure you'll be a great cook, Ryoga."

Ryoga frowned. "What's that supposed to mean!"

Ranma suddenly had an almost overwhelming urge to kiss the angry expression off of his face until he held her so tight that they... She shook her head suddenly. _Bad thoughts. Bad!_ "Ano... it means that you can follow directions?"

The words were out of her mouth before she quite knew what she was saying.

"So you're saying I'm going to be some kind of awful cook, right, because I can't follow directions? Because I couldn't find my way from the house to the school! That's it! You're such a jerk, Ranma. I should've known better than to let my guard down in front of you for a second."

"Ryoga, I–"

"Listen, I can't cook, okay? And I'm by myself on the road, all right? So any time I can pick up a good recipe I'll listen! Especially from a cook like Kasumi. That all right by you?"

"Ryoga." Ranma put both hands on his shoulders. "Breathe."

"What! Get your hands off of me, you condescending –"

Kasumi slipped in between the two martial artists, literally and figuratively. Suddenly she was in the space between Ranma's arms and Ryoga's chest. "Dears. Please."

Ranma jerked her hands from Ryoga's shoulders as though she'd been stung, feeling a tightness in her chest that signified a coming breakdown. _Hold it back. Hold it back. Akane'll get over it_.

Ryoga suddenly looked confused and uncomfortable, a faint flush blooming on his cheeks.

The world was going faint and dim, dying out at the edges. _Ryoga will... Ryoga will trust me someday..._

"Ranma?" Kasumi's voice was soft. "What is going on in this kitchen?" She actually _frowned_ at Ranma. "What is going on in this house?"

Ryoga didn't notice Kasumi's glare. "I'm sorry, Kasumi. I... I let my temper get the better of me. Again. Please; it's my fault."

Ranma's eyes widened at the admission, the kitchen brightening and steadying around her. "I... thanks. Er... I said something stupid. I really _did_ mean you could follow directions. Other than losing your way, I've... I've never seen you screw up anything like that."

Ryoga scoffed. "You can't mean that you were serious that you thought it'd be good. You just don't say stuff like that, Ranma. That's Kasumi's job."

"It's not my _job_ to be nice!" Kasumi suddenly interjected.

"Kasumi..." Ranma whispered. "Aw, Kasumi... don't..."

"Don't what? Don't get upset? I'm not allowed? That's certainly odd, because everyone else seems to be allowed," Kasumi said in a quiet voice that mounted in tension as she spoke. "Even Nabiki. And father has a nervous breakdown every day! But I have to be the strong one... the _nice_ one..."

Ranma grabbed hold of Kasumi and squeezed.

"You idiot, don't take advantage of Kasumi's kindness!" Ryoga shouted.

"This isn't taking advantage! This is holding someone who's upset!"

Ryoga suddenly fell silent.

_Uh oh. I said something wrong?_

Ryoga's silence continued.

_Why isn't he saying something? Poor Kasumi. She's got way too much going on right now..._

"The divorce papers... came... this morning..." she whispered into Ranma's ear.

Ranma stiffened. "Oh, Kasumi..." She increased the pressure with which she was hugging the other girl.

"He mailed them!"

"I know, Kasumi."

"He's a coward!"

"I know."

"D-di-v-vorce?" Ryoga stammered. "Kasumi?"

"Shut up about it, pig-boy!" Ranma snapped. "Don't breathe a word about this!" Ranma stroked Kasumi's back gently. "You're entitled to the occasional breakdown, too, Kasumi," she assured the older girl. "You don't have to be quiet and you don't have to be nice. You don't have to be anything you don't wanna be. Okay?"

Kasumi was drying her eyes on Ranma's hair. "I know. I know." She withdrew, wiping her eyes. "Oh, Ryoga-kun, I'm so sorry! Crying, and in front of a guest!" She shook her head. "And over such a silly thing: just one night with one man, that happened to go awry!" Her smile reappeared. "I'm still a teenager! I've got my whole life ahead of me..."

Ryoga took her hand and patted it comfortingly. "You're right, Kasumi. You're pretty; you're a great cook. There are plenty of guys out there who would love to have you."

Kasumi flushed. "You think?"

"Sure," Ranma agreed. "And besides being pretty and good in the kitchen, you're clever and resourceful. And sweet."

"I don't know about all of that," Kasumi protested. "Come on, you two. Why don't we all make dinner, together?"

So it was that a highly uncomfortable silence descended over the kitchen. While Ryoga and Kasumi chopped, Ranma claimed another apron and began rooting through the cupboard for ingredients. In contrast to their earlier argument, none of the three cooks seemed to get in one another's way. Ranma moved from the cupboard to the stove to the sink with relative ease, ducking around Ryoga's slower and more obvious motions in the kitchen. Through it all Kasumi supervised, directed and corrected with gentle but implacable motions.

Soon, good smells moved through the kitchen.

Ranma realized she was smiling happily at Ryoga and assiduously turned her attention to scrubbing pots and pans.

That was a lot easier to think about than everything else. Simple, easy.

Ryoga's hand landed on her wrist.

She jumped what felt like half a foot into the air. "Ryoga?"

He was pulling her arm out of the sink and examining it. "Hey, you burned yourself."

"Yeah, whatever," Ranma said, but inside she was beginning to feel that imminent breakdown rising in her like a tsunami, the whole world fuzzing, her consciousness narrowing until the only thing that existed was the light pressure of his skin on hers. "Can I have my hand back, please? Thanks."

Ryoga released her with an odd, vulnerable expression on his face, obviously having some sort of internal argument. After a moment he turned away from her a little too quickly to be natural, and moved out of the kitchen.

She didn't feel she could reassure him or exploit that vulnerability, either one. She'd done a little bit too much exploitation, of late.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

I kind of enjoy this half of the story a bit more than the other. I think it's the fact that Ranma is keeping her emotions in check and having to keep her knowledge of Ryoga secret that does it. Maybe it raises the tension.

Then again, there's enough tension between Ranma and Ryoga in the other timeline... Hmm, maybe that's not it.

So which timeline is your favorite?

1 Hinako is not a very well-known character, so let me briefly explain who she is. Hinako was hired by Principal Kuno because she had a reputation for taming wild students. It is later revealed that she was trained by Happousai, and is a student of Anything Goes. She sucks chi from her victims using anything rounded with a hole in the center; typically she uses coins, which are easy to cart around. In the process of sucking 'fighting spirit' from her victims, her appearance shifts from that of a ten year old to that of a far sexier, older woman. She is Ranma and Akane's English teacher.

2 Like all of the students who attend Furinkan, Daisuke is able to bounce back from an attack just about automatically.

3 Which goes to show that she was more thrown than she'd ever been in her entire life.


	11. Chu!

At your request, a recap of the events in this timeline:

Ranma and Ryoga were fighting as usual, when Ranma hit his head on a rock in the koi pond. Ranma thought Ryoga had caught his hand to prevent the fall, but that was not the case.

When Ranma awakens, she is in female form and asleep in Akane's bed. When she searches the Tendo house for someone to figure out what's going on, she discovers a completely different decor and a child.

Kuno arrives and informs Ranma that the child, Sachiko, is hers. Ranma assumes she's had the baby with Kuno at first. Once Kuno takes Ranma to Ucchan's, the two of them inform Ranma that she is now in her twenties and that it is 2004. Ranma passes out.

When Ranma reawakens, she is in Akane's bed again. Akane is there, and she finally convinces Ranma that what Ukyo and Kuno have said is the truth. Akane explains that Ranma went into a deep depression a long time ago; Ryoga was the only thing that brought her back. Ranma is now married to Ryoga; the baby is theirs.

Ranma panicks and runs off to Ukyo, but Ryoga manages to bring her back. Ryoga makes her promise not to bolt, for one week; Ranma makes him promise not to come after her once she does.

Ranma attempts to recall the past, and tries to figure out if she really is attracted to Ryoga. Both attempts fail.

Ranma comes across a letter from her father saying that he will return to Tokyo soon, then washes up. Ranma discovers several things, including: she will not change back to male in the hot water; being stuck as a girl is miserable, but being stuck as a guy all the time would also be miserable; how she appears isn't just her 'girl body' – it's _her_; and she understands, for the first time, that she and Ryoga have really been together in a sexual way.

Nabiki arrives with Sachiko, telling Ranma that her amnesia is probably due to a knock on the head, that she first started acting strange after a knock on the head when she was sixteen, and that she kissed Ryoga right after that injury. Ranma also suddenly recalls certain things about Sachiko, including the baby's age.

Ranma feeds the baby and is preparing dinner when Ryoga arrives – with a guest, who turns out to be Ryoga's boss. Ranma plays the perfect wife for awhile, but it definitely grates. She's more willing to be decent to Ryoga, though, even in private.

Ranma watches she and Ryoga's wedding video, and begins to tease Ryoga about all the times they came close to being in love. And at that point, the door opens, and the Tendo sisters walk in, finding the pair in a... ahem... compromising position.

Ryoga kisses Ranma (briefly) on the lips, and explains about curing his directional curse.

The Tendo sisters, Ukyo and Ranma all get together for some drinking, movie-watching, and epiphanies. Akane had to work very hard to make Ranma and Ryoga's marriage happen, and isn't too pleased about seeing it fall apart. Kasumi and Nabiki inform Ranma that her worries over falling for Ryoga are pretty much the norm for someone considering giving her heart to anybody.

Ranma, quite tipsy, climbs into bed with Ryoga, then drops off to sleep...

------

CHAPTER ELEVEN: 2004

Ranma grimaced as she tasted the inside of her own mouth. Boy, it really felt like something had curled up and _died_... and had chosen her tongue for its final resting place.

"Ugggh," she murmured. She was _cold_, too. Very cold. She snuggled more deeply into the protective embrace of the person behind her.

And wouldn't you know it, but her brain felt like it was trying to move outside of her skull. Pain didn't begin to describe it. It felt more like there were distinct and separate little demons hammering at her insides.

And her stomach...

Ranma threw herself out of bed and into the attached bathroom, making immediate use of the Western-style toilet. "Bleaarrggh!"

She felt instantly better. At least, the demons had departed her stomach and were only residing in her brain, now. Resting over the sink, she rinsed her mouth out with the mouthwash that had been sitting on the counter. "Mouuu..." she moaned desperately, reaching up to the mirrored cabinet above the sink to search for some painkillers.

Ranma froze as she abruptly recalled the feel of someone solid and warm behind her, and her gaze flew back to the bed. "Omigod..."

Her stomach roiled in protest and she leaned again over the toilet.

She turned back slowly, her body one, tense muscle, to regard the bed, hoping that what she'd seen had been some kind of alcohol-induced illusion.

Unfortunately, he was still there. Somehow, she'd made it up to Soun's room last night and... and done heaven-knew-what. With him.

He was half out of the covers, one muscular arm and one pyjama-panted leg peeking out from under the scarlet comforter. His head was tilted to one side, falling off of the pillow in its mustard-colored case, and his breathing was deep and steady. Morning light spilled across his peace-filled features.

Ranma's eyes filled with tears, because she wanted to both run away and tuck him in. She settled for staring, one small hand clenched, pressed against her lips. He had uncommonly thick eyelashes for a man, and sensual lips, she decided almost dispassionately, as if she were merely cataloguing him, comparing him favorably or unfavorably to other men and boys she'd known. A restless sleeper – like her.

Unless she'd merely stolen the covers in the night.

Ranma shivered. It was cold in the room, freezing. She wanted to climb back under the covers and bury her head in his shoulder and close her eyes until he kissed her into loving him.

She wanted to run away screaming, she wanted to find Akane and steal her away from all of this and never come back, she wanted to not be a she, a beautiful bride, a willing wife, a mother.

Ranma couldn't help it. The tears spilled. She dropped to her knees and buried her face in the edge of the synthetic fabric of the scarlet comforter.

It was unmanly, but there was no one to see.

Time passed, but she wasn't sure how much time. It might have been a minute or an hour of the pain in her body, the split in her soul. But eventually a hand was resting down on top of her hair, and she was forced to look up at him.

His expression mirrored hers. "God... are you okay?"

He looked like he hurt. Because of her. She didn't know what to tell him. She couldn't even look him in the eyes. She buried her face into the comforter again and shook her head wildly.

"Damn it," he swore. She felt the bed bounce slightly as his weight left it. After a minute, she felt his arms wrap tightly around her. He was quiet, simply rocking her back and forth as she cried, unable to stop. "There, there," he whispered into her hair, briskly rubbing her arms. "You're okay. You're okay."

As if saying it was making it true, Ranma felt her sobs begin to dissolve into sniffles and hiccoughs, the horror that had been building up in her body draining out of her like Ryoga had lanced a wound. First the tears came faster, but very soon they dissolved into sniffles and hiccoughs.

A tiny wail sounded from downstairs.

"L-look w-what I d-did... I w-woke the b-baby..." Ranma moaned, pulling herself up to stand.

Ryoga held on to her waist and pulled her back down. "Sit a minute."

"But, the baby..."

"Sit, please..."

Ranma sat, fighting the impulse to run down to Sachiko. She felt like the little girl's cries were tugging something very primal in her, but she fought them with her mind and sat. "Can we leave her crying like that?"

"It's something we had to do to get her to sleep through the night," Ryoga told her. "It's all right for a couple of minutes."

Ranma's face heated in shame as she remembered how long Sachiko had cried alone the first day she'd woken up. "O-okay."

"Tell me what's the matter." He began to rock her slightly in his arms again.

Ranma closed her eyes, her focus suddenly lost. Maybe they could just stay this way. Did she really have to ask? And what kind of a person asks that sort of question anyway?

Luckily, Ryoga anticipated her. "I told you I wouldn't touch you last night," he reminded her. "We slept, Ranma. That's it. You climbed in next to me and started to snore loud enough to shake the rafters."

Ranma's eyes closed in blissful relief as the last of the misery left her.

"You were crying because you thought I'd done something to you..."

"Why shouldn't you?" Ranma demanded, almost belligerently. "I don't want to – but we _are_ married... and isn't that what a husband and a wife do?"

"Yeah, I guess, but I wouldn't..." Ryoga sighed, buried his head deep into her hair. "What's the use?" he murmured. "You don't... you can't care for me, can you?"

Ranma stiffened suddenly as his breath whispered past her ear and made shivers run up and down her spine. If he knew what he was doing to her, he wouldn't be able to ask her questions like that.

"Do you know how it feels to wake up to your wife sobbing because she thought she might have slept with you?"

Ranma had to admit that she didn't, and she wondered why he was still holding her, since he was so obviously angry and upset; but his grip around her was tightening instead of loosening, just a shade away from lapsing into uncomfortable.

"I'm going to say this to you one more time... and if you can't trust me after that... maybe..."

Ranma felt her own breathing quicken. Something deep and buried within her was saying in a hurt and confused voice, _wait. Wait, no._

"I know you've got mixed feelings about me."

Ranma opened her mouth to protest, but Ryoga anticipated her again, speaking over her.

"Please let me? I know they're mixed. I know you've let me kiss you – but I know that part of you still sees me screaming..." He paused to plant a soft, brief, gentle kiss at the hollow of her neck, then whispered apologetically: "Ranma, prepare to die..."

The whisper over the slightly dampened skin made something dark and warm fill Ranma's chest. Her pulse thrummed loudly in her ears. "Ryoga..."

"But it's been six years, so it's easy for me. I get that it's hard for you. So... you don't have to pretend to be anyone you're not. Definitely not for my sake."

Ranma leaned slightly back to frown at him, her eyes scanning his. "You're serious, aren't you?"

He nodded. "I want you to be happy, Ranma." He smiled sadly and leaned in to kiss her again.

Ranma felt sick and dizzy and more than a little dismayed at all this kissing. Still, her eyes closed softly as she felt him kiss her where she'd never been kissed before – once over each eyelid, his lips drawing the moisture of her tears away.

When he withdrew, she opened her eyes slowly to find that she was gazing into his hazel ones, and at very close range. Her heart thumped in her chest. _We'll kiss for real now,_ she thought hazily, _the way you see on television, all soppy and nasty. _

_And will I like it,_ she wondered dimly, surprise and faint arousal tinging her cheeks. _I... think I will..._

"Do you want some coffee?" he said.

She blinked at him for a moment at what seemed to her to be a non-sequitor. She'd been thinking of love, and kisses, and leaning towards thinking about deeper and more mysterious things, things in the depths of his eyes.

"Coffee?" she whispered.

"Hangovers always make you emotional. It's something we have in common."

Ranma blinked again. The concern and love in his eyes was still there; he was just applying it practically, now. "C-coffee sounds good."

"Okay. I'll make us some coffee." He drew away, his arms leaving the sides of her stomach, and rose, stretching. "We'll talk about this some more over breakfast, okay?"

"O-okay." She was still a little dazed at his sudden wish for food. Although, come to think of it, now that her stomach wasn't so upset with her, and she'd cried herself out, she was beginning to feel distinctly hungry.

Ranma shook herself free of her daze and stood carefully, using the bed as leverage. She gazed down at Ryoga's pyjamas hanging loosely off of her body, some of the previous night's events slowly coming back to her; after shaking her head in self-derision, she descended to Sachiko's room.

Peering inside revealed that the little girl had fallen right back to sleep. Apparently, she'd been woken by Ranma, but slipped back to sleep once the noises had stopped. Ranma grinned a little as the redhead twitched in her sleep. She placed a calming hand atop the small child's head, then exited the baby's room quietly.

Slipping down the second flight of stairs as slowly and silently as she could, Ranma found Ryoga boiling soup on the stovetop and stirring some mix in a bowl. "Smells good," she said, taking a deep breath. Her stomach gurgled again plaintively, but she refused to let a night of drinking get in the way of good food.

Ranma let Ryoga's too-large shirt pool about her knees as she sat at the table, allowing her thoughts and her eyes to sneak back to Ryoga. _He loves me. He really does love me._

And then, _how did THAT happen_?

Ryoga was right about one thing. She _did_ still see him charging her, screaming, fists raised...

Ranma's eyes glazed over as she saw him as he'd been at their last fight: pissed as all hell, his face twisted into a mask of rage and despair, telling her to go and die. "He hates me," she whispered.

"What?"

Clearer, this time: "you _hate_ me."

"Of course I don't!" Ryoga forgot the mixing bowl in his hands and turned to stare.

Ranma's eyes met his. "Any time you could find me, you'd try to hurt me." She snorted. "Hell, I'd try to hurt you back. You hunted me down halfway across the globe – for sandwiches."

Ryoga flinched. "I was desolate, Ranma. You were the only friend I had."

"Wait. Huh?" Ranma leaned to face him, one elbow propped up on the table in front of her. "I know I've got holes in my memory, Ryoga-kun, but even I know we weren't friends back then."

He sighed. "I didn't care why I went after you, I just had to follow." He poured the mixture onto a hot frying pan, smoothing the batter with a ladle.

Ranma recalled Akane's taunts from the night before in a different light, suddenly. "Were... did you love me, back then?"  
Ryoga's lips quirked, and he barked a laugh. "I don't think so. But I was lonely and you were the only constant in my life. I remember thinking I _had_ to find you: it was so imperative, like a command in my mind. I invented the reasons why. I was a kid, so I picked something noble to fight for – saying you'd run out on our fight, that you were tormenting Akane. What I meant was that you'd run out on me... moved away when you were the only person I talked to at school and the only one willing to take me to and from junior high every day. You know how kids are – your moving had nothing to do with me, but I made it about me." He offered her a self-mocking grin. "The world revolves around every thirteen-year-old boy. And then later..." He coughed into his hand. "I was... well, I was very jealous of you and Akane."

"Which one of us?" Ranma inquired flatly, sticking to her original idea.

Ryoga colored, turning rapidly to the stove to avoid her eyes. "Both, I guess. You two fought, but you always made up and you always stuck together. I didn't have anyone like that."

Ranma looked down at her lap, too. After being held by him like that, she found it hard to look at him directly. What if he turned around and gave her that intense Ryoga stare again? "But you always said Akane and I were wrong together," she managed. "If you were jealous of what we had... you had to first recognize that we had something."

"Of course I did. But I _wanted _to deny it. It felt good to deny it. Maybe if you were both miserable, my being miserable wouldn't have been so bad. Three peas in a pod, all _miserable_ together."

Ranma hid her face again. She didn't know how to feel. It suddenly seemed that all of Ryoga's past actions had been erased and painted with a different brush in her mind. Ryoga had been angry, but before he was angry, he had to be hurt. And she had done the hurting. Usually to get a laugh, or because Ryoga happened upon her at a particularly upsetting or frustrating moment.

Ranma sighed. "I guess I meant that you _should_ hate me."

"I never did. I always just wanted to be closer to you." His expression changed from sweet sadness to wry; and then he began to laugh, breaking the solemn mood. "Of course, I never imagined things would end up like this..."

"How _did_ it end up like this?"

"I'm not sure. I needed someone very desperately... and you did, too, really. You were so patient with me. I was skittish and easily annoyed. You worked hard at being nice. Eventually you won me over. Now I'm working hard to make it up to you." He flipped his pancake onto a plate and set it in front of her.

Ranma laughed. "That's a funny way of putting it."

"Maybe. But the fact is that I love you. I really do."

The redhead smiled and tossed her hair. "Who wouldn't love this body and these moves?"

"That isn't what I love." He kissed the top of her head.

And suddenly, instead of recalling his features as he told her to 'hold still and die', Ranma found herself remembering his outstretched arm, and the stark terror in his eyes just before she hit the rocks. She gulped. _At least... at least, he sure did care for me more than he let on._

Quietly, she began filling her stomach with pancake, and then with the hot coffee Ryoga set in front of her. Her body appeared to be taking the new additions well, making a few mild noises of protest before settling down.

"Listen, I _do_ have to go to work..."

Ranma looked up to find his expression one of deep regret and worry. "I'll be okay." Then, knowing what he was after – she surprised herself by being able to read him – she added, "I won't go without saying goodbye. What do you take me for?" She frowned menacingly. "And what about Sachiko? Would I leave her alone all day?"

His relieved grin made her smile in return. "Okay," he replied, simply. "Do I get a goodbye kiss?"

Ranma's heart thumped in her chest. Ryoga was going to stay a gentleman 'til the end; he wouldn't just sweep her off her feet. And there wasn't anything wrong with it, was there? They were married!

Damn it... and damn them all, the Tendos and Ukyo and Ryoga, too, for making her feel this way, backed into an emotional corner. She wanted him to hold her again, in whatever way – and she wanted even more to avoid seeing that look of hurt disappointment in his eyes, the one that had stopped her in her tracks on the very first day.

And on top of all that, she wanted to give him a straight answer.

Hmm, although maybe that wasn't the best choice of words.

"I'll give it a try," she replied softly. "If you don't mind..." Ranma fumbled. She didn't know how to tell Ryoga that this might not work, that she might hate it or she might feel nothing; and it was a little cruel to use him to initiate a real kiss without yet even guessing how she felt about it.

Gulping, she rose and straightened her pyjama top.

"R-Ranma?"

She made her way to him, her lips a grim line of determination, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ranma..." His eyes were wide and confused. "Are you...?"

He was kind of cute when he didn't know what the hell was happening. She smirked, and pressed her lips to his.

For a moment he stood frozen, his muscles locked up in surprise. That only lasted a moment, though. Soon, she was pressed to him, one of his hands at the small of her back, the other on her left shoulderblade. Ranma found that her double on the tape had been right – Ryoga kissed like he was born knowing how. Their lips moved together until Ranma thought her heart might beat straight out of her chest and flop down to lay at his feet. _I am giving myself to him... he's going to have it, have me... he'll keep me forever... but I'll get him.. It is a fair trade, isn't it?_

After that, there wasn't much room for thought.

After devoting some serious attention to her lips, Ryoga moved his attention to the spot just below her ear, working his way down to her shoulder. Eventually, though, he pulled back to watch her, his eyes dark, his hair mussed, and his lips bruised. Ranma wondered if she had the just-done-it look, too. Although she had to admit, he made it look good.

"W-well?" he stammered.

"Whoa," she replied.

A bright grin lit his features. "Really?"

"Don't make me say it twice. You making my knees weak is weird enough."

Oddly, this statement did nothing to remove his smile. "To be continued, then, I guess," he replied.

"Yeah, I guess." She smiled at him; then, tentatively, she went on tip-toe to kiss his cheek. "Bye."

He returned with a kiss on the cheek, looking like he'd just won a million dollars. "See you, Ranma." He closed the door behind him, and, moments later, had literally disappeared.

"How does he _do_ that?" Ranma wondered, staring at the spot of porch he'd just vacated. Then she flopped down on the couch, eyes glazing over, fingers rising unconsciously to brush her lips.

It wasn't like the first time. The first time had been terrible. Mikado had been grabby, he hadn't cared anything for her, and his mouth was... _ugh!_... everyplace. There had been so much _sucking_, and so much _spit_. And part of her, a part she hadn't even known existed at the time, was in a state of terror so deep it was literally impossible to actually acknowledge with the conscious mind. Ranma – Ranma, who knew for a fact that men amoungst men did _not_ cry – was reduced to tears by that kiss.1

Belatedly, Ranma remembered a second kiss, although she hadn't counted it at the time. Despite she and Akane's pretenses, duct tape over the lips did not completely muffle sensation. That kiss, while sweeter and more heartfelt, had lacked something in the commitment arena. And although she'd been told the story – over and over again, actually – she didn't remember the kiss she'd given Akane while in the Neko-ken.

Ryoga's kiss had been sure and confident but careful and slow. He hadn't shoved his tongue in her mouth, although his tongue had... Ranma didn't know what to call it. For just a second, his tongue had run over her lower lip, and then it was gone.

_Man_, that had sent a chill from her lips straight to her toes – yet, in a way, it also hurt her, tore at her. It was as though what he'd been doing was building up a pressure in her system, a pressure that would eventually tear her to pieces, then reassemble her in an entirely new way.

Kami-sama, was this always how it felt?

But she knew the answer to that question. It wasn't all about skill. It only felt that way when you...

_Gah! Can't even _think_ it!_

Felt that way if...

Ranma heard Akane's voice suddenly and clearly: 'Don't_ skirt around Ryoga like you did with me and Ukyo and Shampoo back then. Gather your bravery together and tell him one way or the other..._'

"First I gotta know how _I_ feel, Akane..."

Ranma ran a hand through her red hair. "Dummy." She knocked herself on the side of the head, filling in for Akane in her absence.

Of course she knew. She was attracted to Ryoga. She didn't know when that had really started or whether it had been true all along, but it was true now. She might even love him, given some time. Ranma had to admit she felt... affectionate... towards Ryoga, but the idea of being in love with a man still twisted her insides, and she wasn't certain if her stomach and her heart could reach some kind of agreement so soon.

"But probably... after awhile..."

If she stayed. The other option was to leave here, leave Sachiko and Ryoga and...

"And...?"

...and perhaps start her own dojo elsewhere. She could certainly make a living that way. Moreover, she could make a fine living in the wilderness, if it came to that. It wasn't like she didn't have any skills. She could get a job in some nameless town, or move to China...

_And why didn't I just do that in the first place?_

It was a good question. Ranma thought back to her first day with Ryoga as she recalled it. Her emotions had been all a-jumble, and she knew that at least part of her had simply needed a return to home base. She had, after all, started to run away before circling back unconsciously. And her pride had stung; she couldn't really run from Sachiko and Ryoga, no matter how many times Ryoga hinted at the option.

But if she was honest with herself, there was something more. Ranma frowned, trying to concentrate on the feeling. She remembered...

Thinking that Ryoga was a fool. A naive imbecile. That she could stay with him without fear of harm... She knew how Ryoga thought of women. He elevated them to the status of minor deities. And it was obvious that, from his point of view, she was a woman now... He wouldn't press the issue...

Ranma recalled, now. She had been buying herself some time to figure this out. Although she barely remembered the details of that night – everything was already slightly fuzzy from heightened emotion – she _did_ remember thinking that she'd somehow landed herself in some sort of joke or a mean-spirited trick. Perhaps she was under the influence of some magical item – or maybe everyone else was. It wasn't all that outlandish to assume, in Ranma's case.

The two thoughts, 'Ryoga is a naive imbecile' and 'buying some time', fit together like the pieces of a blacksmith's puzzle. Ranma had realized that, by staying at the Tendo home, she would have enough time to piece together what had happened; and, she realized that, given Ryoga's tendency towards naivete, he would leave her alone. Moreover, if she just acted feminine and distressed, Ryoga would probably actually aid her in finding the trouble, possibly helping her return to life as she knew it... Certainly he would feed her while she sorted this all out.

A strange, self-loathing grimace briefly touched her features. The reason for Ranma's disgust wasn't something she could put into words, but the picture of her scamming a male shopkeeper for some free food flitted past her mind's eye. There was something inherently similar in it.

Come to think of it, hadn't she tried to do the same exact thing to Ukyo, first?

Ranma worried her lower lip between her teeth, tasted Ryoga on it and started in surprise. This was a new and unexpected development. She hadn't really thought of Ryoga tasting a certain way, but there was that taste on her lips, a not-food taste, a not-Ranma taste... _his_ taste.

"Gah!" Guilt seemed to envelop her. She'd been scamming him. Scamming Ryoga.

_Aw, c'mon, Ranma. Don't be a dumbass. Anyone who's that stupid deserves what they get..._ Her brain was frantically scrambling for that sense of infuriated righteousness that had been fueling her that night. _It's not like it's any different from what you were doing at the Tendo household before..._

Ranma blinked, then slapped her hand to her forehead. "Mou..." She gulped. "Have I become somebody who takes what they want, manipulates who they like, and moves on?" She frowned. "Kind of like Pops..."

The door swung open again, causing Ranma to stiffen in her borrowed shirt, rapidly smoothing her expression. "What's up? You forget something?"

Genma coughed experimentally. "That's the welcome I get, after almost a year away? Sure, let me get that old blanket I left here last winter!"

Ranma blinked at him silently before her eyes filled with tears. "P-Pops?"

He grinned. "The one and only." His smile dissolved into a heavy frown. "And I'll have you know that I take what I like and stick around awhile longer. For the company."

Ranma laughed through her tears and bounded up off of the couch to meet him.

Author's Notes:

Mmm. Okay, didn't know Genma was showing up, myself. Sometimes these things surprise me. Well... actually, they do that a lot. I think I started off this story wanting to work him in, and then lost him someplace along the way. This is another chapter that looked _very_ different originally. I think that, the later the chapter is, the more the story has deviated and the more it has to be altered. By the time we're up to chapter fifteen or so, it's going to be a rewrite every time!

Hope you're liking it so far! Let me know what you think...

1 Ranma is referring here to her kiss with Mikado Sanzenin – or, rather, the kiss he stole from her.


	12. Change in Direction

TWELVE: 1998

Ranma flipped her fire-red hair out from underneath her kimono and studied her reflection.

She hadn't been able to find a decent kimono; back when she was sixteen, she hadn't been all that interested in girlish clothing, so she'd simply picked out what she thought was a good color, or whatever showed the most skin.

These days, Ranma was more picky. She'd gone over to Nodoka's and ended up borrowing one of her mother's old (read: vintage) rust-colored kimonos, with sakura blossoms emblazoned on it in a diagonal pattern across the front. While the kimono probably allowed Nodoka to look more like an average Japanese young lady by blending her exact hair color with the kimono's, it made Ranma's brighter hair stand out even more. The pink in the petals was just the right shade to bring out a little glow in Ranma's cheeks. The redhead, not wanting to alarm her companions, had used chapstick on her lips. At least it brought them out, even if it wasn't any real color.

For five minutes or so, she debated about her cropped hair.

Well. She had to be honest about it. It wasn't the hair at all, or the kimono, or the decision to wear lipstick or not. It was one whole big mess, but it touched lightly on all of those small decisions. Should she have blackmailed Nabiki? Should she have comforted Kasumi? Should she have cried on Ryoga?

Did she reveal herself – or try to live in a world that no longer fit her? Ranma's wide, slightly haunted eyes caught in the mirror, saw the all-too frightened girl gazing blankly at her. After a moment, the grave expression lightened, turned into a chuckle.

"Okay. Go all dramatic on me. Baka." She knocked herself in the head.

"So. Does it matter whether what I saw was real or not?"

No. It didn't matter.

"Do I like the way things are, now? Like the way I treat Akane and Ryoga and Kasumi and Pops...?"

No. Of course not. Relationships, by definition, were tangled badly at this point.

"Well then what the hell am I doing? Dummy." Despite her flippant tone, her hands trembled badly as she took a small, jeweled clip from beside the sink and used it to hold her bangs away from her eyes. "But what if I change things? Can't I make myself into an impossibility? Isn't this tempting paradox?" She longed for the book on her shelf, the book on causality, the one she had bought because of long-honed instinct, no reason, a liking for the intricacies of quantum mechanics, a pleasure in seeing her husband's raised brows, incredulous expression. Staring at her scarlet hair briefly in the mirror, she added one more clip to the other side of her face. It revealed her features nicely.

She grinned at herself – very unconvincingly. _Gosh, no wonder Akane says I look like a sneak. I've never seen a smile wider – or more fake._

Stop smiling, then. Let them know that you're upset. Why won't you let them help you? Why do you feel like you've got to keep this to yourself? C'mon, Saotome, this sort of thing happens all the time... to you.

Akane's voice suddenly came back to her: _Helping someone out doesn't take anything away from them! _And... letting someone know she was in pain maybe didn't make her look like a fool.

Ranma's expression fell. It looked a lot sadder, it looked a lot more empty. A little desperate.

But much more true. Less like somebody hiding from herself. Ranma swallowed, and put on a light sheen of lip gloss. It was a dark color, almost the same color as the kimono, so she put it on lightly and blotted a great deal off before she was satisfied.

"Okay. You can do this. It can't be harder than it was the first time. C'mon, Ranma. Go!" She adjusted the kimono's sakura-pink bow, squared her shoulders and strode (read: shuffled1) out of the bathroom.

She was met with Nabiki's incredulous gaze. "What do you think you're doing!" the middle Tendo girl hissed. "What the hell is wrong with you!"

Ranma turned cold eyes her way. "I'm doing as I wish – _finally_. And I don't care if my dream was a dream or some kind of reality. I'm here, now, and I have to live here. I don't care what you or anyone else believes."

Nabiki swallowed. "Do you realize how _crazy_ that sounds? 'Well, reality doesn't fit – so I'll pretend it does'! You know who you sound like, don't you?"

Ranma's eyes saddened as she thought of what she'd done to Kuno. "Yeah, I guess I do."

Nabiki blinked, taken aback. "Well... uh, so long as you know."

Ranma slid down the stairs carefully, her entire body going rock-solid at the thought of what those downstairs would say when they met up with her. Genma would demand what the hell she was doing, and possibly pour hot water on her on the spot, which would indubitably ruin her mother's kimono. Soun would cry – Akane would either rage, or go silent. (Sometimes it was hard to tell with the youngest Tendo.) Kasumi would say she looked very nice, and mean it. Insert Nabiki's sardonic comment, here.

Ryoga? She didn't know. She didn't know him, anymore.

Her expectations were frustrated almost immediately.

"Well, there you are, dear!" Saotome Nodoka said. She was seated at the Tendo dining room table, sipping on some tea which Kasumi had apparently provided. "Goodness, that does suit you! How did you know?"

Genma, Ryoga, Akane, Kasumi, and Soun were unable to make their characteristic contributions.

"Why, how lovely you look!"

Okay, so Kasumi was able to make hers.

_Thank you, mother!_ "Oh, we look a lot alike," Ranma replied. "I figured that if it looked nice enough on you for you to purchase it, it would probably look all right on me..."

Nodoka tilted her head to one side. "Goodness, but we do have similar coloring. I never made that connection, before."

Genma was staring at her with a very stressed, confused expression that Ranma couldn't place. Of course, she was a little confused too; the man was in his real form, not his cursed one.

"You've come on a joyous occasion, Ranko," Nodoka continued. "My husband and I have reunited after ten long years of separation."

Ranma smiled, genuinely this time. "That must be wonderful!"

"Unfortunately, I hear that my son is off on a training trip on his own," Nodoka murmured unhappily.

_One thing at a time,_ Ranma reminded herself. _Don't throw yourself at her feet just yet._ "That's too bad," Ranma lied smoothly. "I know how much you want to see him. And I'm sure you will soon."

Nodoka's returning smile was bright enough to light up the room. "Thank you for the thought, Ranko, dear. Coming from you it feels... like it might be true, somehow."

"Oh, auntie, I'm sure it is!" Akane broke in.

"Meanwhile, my husband and I have a great deal to catch up on," Nodoka murmured. "Although I was planning on attending the festival tonight, it might be a good idea to stick close to home." She eyed her husband, as though wondering whether he might disappear again.

Ranma found herself sympathetic to them both. From later discussions, she knew how her father felt at this point, and it was not good. She was lucky that anyone who noted her sympathy figured that it was directed to her mother.

"Perhaps you ought to go to the festival together," Ranma suggested. "It sounds romantic, right?"

Nodoka perked up. "Genma?"

"Ah... c-certainly, No-chan."

"A date! My goodness," Nodoka uncharacteristically fluttered. "I don't know how long it's been!" Genma flinched as Nodoka stood suddenly. "Excuse me, I'm going to go freshen up!"

The moment she was out of hearing range, furious whispers began at the table.

"You fool! Look what you've done!" Genma hissed. "In case you're forgetting, _you'll_ be at the fair! What if she catches you?"

Ranma shook her head. "Let me worry about that. You worry about showing her a nice time. Idiot – she's been waiting on you for ten years. Do you know how many women would do that? Do you _know_ how lucky you are that she hasn't found someone younger, handsomer, and less of a complete moron!"

"Like you speak from experience!" Genma shot back. "You don't know how painful it's been waiting for Nochan! But I'd rather not _die_, all the same–"

"Have you ever noted how they sound more like siblings than father and son?" Nabiki inquired of Kasumi.

"Oh my! So they do!"

"Oh, my poor friend, to be taken so cruelly from the world!" Soun wailed.

"I'm not _dead yet_!" Genma barked.

Then Nodoka returned, and all was peace and harmony once more. At least on the surface.

"Goodness, I feel just like a schoolgirl," Nodoka confided to Akane.

"Heh," Akane laughed a little nervously.

"It seems little Ranko feels the same way," Genma interjected flatly.

"Hey, Genma-san, oughtn't you 'freshen up' too?" Ranma prodded.

Genma gratefully retreated to the room he shared with Ranma. Sounds like a hacksaw immediately began to emerge.

"Soun, he's _sawing his way out of the room!_" Ranma whispered.

Soun didn't notice that he'd been addressed by his first name. "You... aren't serious..."

"I think you should check up on him," Ranma hinted strongly.

"Excuse me," Soun said, standing up at the table and disappearing into Genma's room.

Sounds of violence ensued, while twin sweatdrops appeared on the back of Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki's heads.

"Sooo... how 'bout this weather we're having?" Ranma wanted to know.

* * *

The streetlamps were bright as people wove in and out of the large street fair that came annually to Nerima. Girls were dressed in their prettiest kimonos or their nicest western dresses, and giggled as their boyfriends won them prizes or complimented them. Children ran, screaming joyfully through the crowd, or hung on the arm of a parent, the other hand firmly wrapped arounda stick of a cotton candy. Joyous screams and clacks signaled the presence of a small roller-coaster. The entire prefecture of Nerima seemed to be made up of people having an amazing time.

Predictably enough, Ryoga was in a Deep Funk.

"Ryoga. Ryoga!" Akane tugged at his sleeve.

The Lost Boy looked down at Akane and smiled. She was beautiful in a blue-and-white kimono, her hair held back by a pale white ribbon. "It's nothing, Akane. Really."

Truth be told, it was the nothing directly in front of them who had his attention – the nothing called Ranma Saotome.

He should be happy, he reminded himself – no, ecstatic – to be walking side by side with Akane, whom he loved. It was practically a date the way she was sticking to him, despite the fact that others were present. Instead, he found his eyes constantly straying to Ranma's stiff back and shoulders.

When she'd come down the stairs he literally hadn't recognized her. He'd wondered what sort of goddess had meandered into the Tendo living room, and was about to ask Akane which of her friends she'd invited, and how come he didn't know about her.

Then Nodoka had begun speaking to her, very familiarly, and the flame-haired beauty had told the older woman that they had the same coloring – and, to his shame, it _still_ hadn't hit him. He was thinking about her slender white neck, and her bright eyes, and the way she had a sort of desperate air, like someone who had nothing to lose.

Then Nodoka had called her 'Ranko'. _Still _nothing.

It had taken Nabiki, professional stater-of-the-obvious, to tell everybody at the table that Genma and Ranma fought more like siblings than like father and son.

_Then_ it had hit him. That was Ranma. Ranma! Ranma, looking like... he couldn't put his finger on it. Not feminine – or not _only_ feminine, anyway. Delicate. Dangerous. Poised over some sort of long fall. It baffled him that no one else seemed to catch this gravity which had suddenly enveloped her. It was that more than the kimono which had thrown him.

Ranma had always been full of mischief – full of life. Right now, she looked like it took all her willpower to put one foot in front of the other; and yet, she did it with a grace that made her desperation unspeakably beautiful.

"Ryoga! _This_ way..."

Ryoga shook his head free of cobwebs. He _had_ to be imagining things. Besides, if he didn't pay attention, Akane would forget him briefly and he would end up in rural Hokkaido in a moment of deep thought. "Sorry, Akane. I'll try harder to pay attention."

Ukyo dropped back to jog along beside them. Offering up an apologetic grin towards the youngest Tendo, she nudged Ryoga. "Sorry, sugar, but can I 'borrow' him for a minute?"

Akane nodded, looking slightly bemused and ran to catch up with her fiancee. A moment before reaching her, though, Akane slowed. Ryoga was surprised to watch the dark-haired girl maintain her pace a step behind. That was strange; last he knew, they were getting along better than ever, with the way that Ranma was _touching_ her all the time. In public!

"What do you think you're doing!" Ukyo hissed.

"Huh?" Ryoga realized all over again that he had company.

"The entire idea is to win Akane over! And you're not even _speaking_ to her..."

"Oh. Yeah, I know..."

"You know? Listen! This may be your _only chance_ to impress that girl! Okay, I know you're shy. I'll give you a couple of things to say..."

Ryoga watched as Ranma tossed some comment over her shoulder; Akane froze. Then, after a moment's shock, the taller girl ran to catch up. Now they were walking together, at least.

"Try that her outfit makes her look really feminine. Akane's weak spot is her femininity, so anytime you compliment her on that, it's a surefire home run. 'Kay?"

"Nn."

Now Ranma was looking affronted, Akane apologetic. After another second, Akane allowed herself to pull back, seeming even more unhappy.

"Then win some prize for her. I know it's classic, but it works. Buy her a snack. You've got enough for that, don't you?"

"What do you think happened to them?" Ryoga inquired absently, still watching the pair of girls, one trailing dejectedly, the other stiff as a board.

"Huh?" Ukyo followed the path of his gaze. "Oh. I don't know. It doesn't matter! That works in our favor, whatever the reason."

Ryoga turned to her and frowned, looking at her as though for the first time. "For real, Ukyo."

Ukyo sighed with a very put-upon expression. "I don't know. I think it has something to do with the way that Ranma was treating Kuno, of all people. Akane and Ranma had a fight about that, but I don't know the specifics."

"What's with the... makeup? And the hair?"

Ukyo shook her head. "It's been bothering me, too, to be honest. But every time I talk about it, Ranma just gives me this _look_... and it's like my tongue's frozen in my mouth."

"Like she wants the world to end..."

"Exactly!" Ukyo broke in. "And when my fiancee looks at me with those eyes, how am I supposed to tell him to get on some guy clothes so I can hang on his arm? Especially when he doesn't seem to want to be close to _anyone_, tonight... He's not himself."

The all-too-real feeling of Ranma screaming into him, gripping him like she never meant to let him go, assaulted Ryoga. The memory was a strange mix of wrong-yet-right that the Lost Boy couldn't quite explain. "It _was_ a dream... wasn't it?"

"Huh?"

Ryoga let his breath escape him in a whoosh. "Never mind. Hey... where'd Nabiki and Kasumi go?"

"Kasumi wanted to win some new koi for the pond," Ukyo supplied. "Nabiki went with. So deep in thought this is the first time you've missed them?"

Ryoga nodded guiltily. "Yeah..."

"I'm gonna talk with Akane, see if I can't get her in a more receptive mood. You're not at the top of your game tonight," Ukyo chided.

"Yeah, I know."

Ukyo slid next to Akane and linked arms with the youngest Tendo, engaging her in animated conversation.

Ryoga just couldn't focus. The picture of Ranma crying on him seemed to live in him now, like a spirit that had taken residence in his body. He'd find himself thinking of it during strange moments, inexplicably dwelling on it. He'd catch himself... obsessing. He couldn't shake the impression that, whatever it had been, dream or no, Ranma was in trouble.

Could it be as simple as being worried... over a friend? He was allowed to do that, wasn't he?

Ryoga thought back to his conversation, such as it was, with Ranma – when he realized that treating Ranma just like any other guy wasn't quite right. Was this a product of that kind of thinking? Now he had lease to worry about the other martial artist? _That's it,_ he decided. _It would be okay to worry about a girl..._

All of a sudden, the crowds seemed to push in from all sides. Ryoga realized that a ride had just stopped, and that the stream of people shoving past him were from the mass exodus. He felt his breath coming sharp and fast. He couldn't see any of his group!

Abruptly, a pair of arms emerged from the crowd and yanked him forward.

"Thanks, U... er, Ran...ma?"

Ranma gave him a small, shy smile. "No problem. Let's walk."

Ryoga wanted to ask her a lot of things, but his brain kept tripping over itself, that picture of her sobbing getting in his way. How do you ask someone whether they've given you a bald-faced lie?

"I'm sorry for crying at you before," Ranma said quickly.

Ryoga flinched. "What?"

"And for telling you that it was a dream, after," she added guiltily.

For some reason, this made Ryoga realize all over again that she had a hold on his arm. "Gah!"

"Gah?"

"I... I'd just about convinced myself it... hadn't really happened..."

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

For a long time, they were both quiet. To Ryoga, the rides and games flowing by them had begun to take on the appearance of the surreal. Everything was so bright, and passing him by so quickly.

"Why were you... uh, upset?"

Ranma was quiet for a long time. "Do you remember when I kissed you?"

He was surprised to hear himself choke back a laugh. "What a question. How could I forget?"

"There was a dream I had."

"A dream?" He eyed her suspiciously.

"I think it was a dream, anyway. Probably. Maybe."

At his raised eyebrow, she grinned. "A dream that might-not-have-been. It was a good dream. We were all older."

Ryoga perked up. "Really? That's kind of cool. I never have dreams like that, all involved. They're always pretty garden-variety. I fight you and kill you, that kind of thing." Now that she'd finally admitted it, he was feeling strange and a little lightheaded.

At least she understood it was a joke. Her smile said she did, anyway. "It was so good that it was a pain to wake up," she admitted. "A pain to wake up right back... right back where I started."

Ryoga nodded slowly. If he had a dream like that... maybe, a dream where he married Akane and had children and ran a dojo... waking up would be a true reason for despair.

"In psychological terms, it's called a 'lucid dream'," she was continuing. "That is, you feel that it's real, even after you've woken. The feeling can last for an instant, or days, or even forever, depending on your state of mind and just how sane you are."

"So what was it about?" Ryoga inquired. He wondered just what would make someone like Ranma so happy that waking up was a 'pain'.

"I was married," she replied, "and running the dojo. We... we had a child."

Ryoga nodded absently to himself. He found himself unsurprised that Ranma's fantasy had been much like the one he'd crafted for himself.

"My mom knew about the curse," Ranma went on, "and didn't mind. Pops had mellowed. Kasumi was married, too, and happy."

"And what about me?" Ryoga wanted to know. "Let me guess: I was wandering the globe and still trying to kill you."

"No," Ranma replied. "No, you were settled, too. You'd cured your problem with directions and were much... calmer."

"Are you saying I lose my temper easily?"

"Easy, Hibiki," Ranma cut in.

Ryoga flushed as he realized that was exactly what he'd been about to do. "And Akane?"

"Akane had gone to college for awhile, and then decided to tour with an acting troupe."

"Kuno?"

Ranma smirked. "Married to Kasumi."

"He WHAT!" Ryoga demanded.

The redhead smiled sweetly. "He'd mellowed too. She'd gotten more assertive. She thought he was funny; he worshipped the ground she walked on. Actually, it wasn't a bad match, despite the fact that Kasumi's always saying she wants an older man to take care of her."

Ryoga nodded, then tried to cast back as to what had begun this conversation, which was growing increasingly odd. "But what does that have to do with you kissing me?" he wanted to know.

"We were married," Ranma said.

Ryoga frowned. "Yeah. We were both married. What does that have to do with you... kissing..." he trailed off, a radical idea suddenly hitting him.

Ranma bobbed her head, once. "You were the one I was married to."

Ryoga stopped dead in his tracks.

Ranma continued speaking anyway, picking up steam as she went – like she wanted to get her words out into the open before she lost her courage. "That's why I kissed you. When I woke up, I still thought of you as my husband." Ranma colored. "I kind of... still... do..."

Ryoga stared at her. He couldn't help but note, almost as a non-sequitor, how beautiful she looked, with her kimono dark against the night, her paleness flushing in embarrassment, her eyes – those grave, desperate eyes – trained on his shoes. "H-husband?"

Ranma nodded. "I can't seem to get it out of my head. It felt real. Really real. I knew all kinds of things about you that only a wife could know. All kinds of things about... having a baby. Our baby." She looked up at him, and it was _that look_ again, the one that Ryoga hadn't been able to place before. But he knew it now.

He gripped her by the shoulders and shook her. "Ranma!"

For a moment, one blessed moment, all that was in her eyes was shock.

"Are you still in there!"

"Am I still...?"

"You realize what you're saying?"

The hopelessness rushed back in to fill the emptiness of shock. She already knew what he was going to say; she was already rejecting it.

He flew forward anyway. "This isn't you, Ranma. This isn't you at all! You're the one who jumped on my head every day in junior high, and who... who led me to school every morning also. You're the one who spars with me anytime I show. You're the one who yells at me for sleeping with Akane! Because you're _jealous!_ Not of her – of me!"

Ranma blinked.

"You're the... the kindest jerk of an asshole..." he murmured. "Why can't you be that Ranma? The one I know? The one I can deal with..."

Ranma's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. No, you're right. This was a mistake."

"Don't look like that... _please_ don't look like that!"

"How am I supposed to look, then?" she demanded.

Ryoga pondered. "You're supposed to say... uh... 'You idiot, P-chan, did you think I was serious? Geez, man, you must be the most guillible person on the face of the planet!'"

Ranma blinked at him, once, slowly – and then began to laugh, hard and a little hysterical, tears that weren't born entirely of laughter hanging in her eyes.

"Don't..." Ryoga begged, glancing around the fair in a hunted fashion. In utter desperation, he searched about for something to make her stop _weeping_. Wildly, kissing her ran through his head for a brief moment before Ryoga's inner thought police began shooting that down. "Ranma!" he exclaimed. "Akane and Ukyo were right behind us!"

Ranma stiffened, straightened.

Ryoga realized that this was the right thing to say. "Yeah! Uh... _right_ behind us! You don't want Akane to see you cry, do you?"

Ranma scrubbed her eyes frantically. "No."

"Here, let me get you some water." Ryoga spied a barrel with drinking water and a small scoop, and drew it for her. "Splash your face."

She looked up at him from under her lashes a little suspiciously, but obeyed, dipping her handkerchief in the water and dabbing at her cheeks and swollen eyes. "Better?" she inquired as he set the ladle back into the water.

Ryoga gulped. She still had a high flush across her cheeks. _Beautiful_, he thought inadvertently.

She blinked up at him again. "Ryoga? C-can we get out of here?"

He found himself nodding, taking her by the elbow, and steering her away from the pressing crowds.

Even he could manage that much of a change in direction.

* * *

It was cold atop the Tendo roof, but at least they wouldn't have any problems being seen by those they knew. To Ryoga's shame, he'd had to carry Ranma up, because of the kimono she was wearing.

Ranma spread out her jacket and sat on it, arranging her skirt. She seemed a lot calmer, but all that meant was that she was on the verge of a breakdown rather than in the middle of one. Her eyes still held that look that was beginning to haunt Ryoga, and they were still wet. Although she wasn't sobbing, the tears kept coming. Every now and then, one of her hands would rise to sweep them away.

Ryoga was at a loss. He was remembering all sorts of things – the way she'd said, "I miss you", the way she hadn't wanted him to stay over that night. Because _she_ would be tempted? How cold and silent she'd been, like she was afraid that one crack would make her shatter.

_What do I say? What do I do? I can't deal with him like this; I don't know how._

Then Ranma was speaking, making him feel a warm wash of relief.

"On warm nights we used to sleep on the roof, like this." She lay back, her scarlet hair pooling behind her head, her knees drawn up slightly, her face turned towards his. "You'd make up names for the stars you didn't know."

"Ranma..." Ryoga began. "This isn't healthy. That never happened!"

"But it did happen. Or it will."

"It was a dream. Don't talk like that!"

"You used to tell me bad jokes and say that you liked me for my soul." She chuckled. "Corniest cornball there ever was. Man, I could use one of your bad jokes right about now."

"Ranma, cut it out!"

Her eyes trailed to his. "Make me." But the words held no challenge.

"Just thinking about it..." He shivered. "It's impossible!"

"Why?" she wondered.

"Because... of who you are. And who I am."

"A guy?"

"Part of it, but not all," Ryoga whispered; but he'd surprised himself. If someone had told him he'd be having this conversation, he'd have said that would be the first reason he'd offer. (After he'd laughed his ass off, of course.) But it wasn't the first thing. "You... you think I'm worthless," he said quietly. "You think I'm not good enough for Akane; how could I ever be good enough for you?"

Ranma smiled. "You manage."

"Like how?"

"Well, like finally telling me about how Akane knew about you being P-chan all along..."

Ryoga froze. "W-what? No, Ranma... that's just the dream."

"Are you sure? Akane wasn't using you to make me jealous?"

Ryoga bigsweated. "Not that I'm aware of..."

"Hmm." Her voice was amused, like she wasn't sure she believed him. "Well, maybe this was all in an alternate world. Like Sliders. You know that show?"

"Er... no."

"Aw, you're hopeless. You're so uninfluenced. That's what's kind of cool about you. A good point." She laughed a little bit, and the tears finally stopped.

"What else?" he inquired.

"Hmm. Well, the only one who can hold a candle to me in a fight, you know."

"Yeah..."

"And you're cute..." she murmured.

Ryoga's pleased expression died. "What?"

She eyed him hungrily. "Cute. Handsome. Muscular. At least as cute as me. In fact, the fangs might put you over the top."

Ryoga gulped audibly. "Ranma..."

"Sorry. But it's true. And it's another one of your good points. So's your naivete. It's so sweet! And your cursed form is fun to cuddle. And you're a little wild and unpredictable... which is also fun."

Ryoga's heart began to thump.

"And... let me see. The way you won't go to sleep unless I..." She paused. "Maybe you _don't_ want to hear anything all _that_ personal."

"Eh heh! Yeah... but the fact that you know d-details l-like t-that..."

"Is odd. Right? Right?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like I know so much about you."

"Come on, Ryoga. Name me a good point."

Ryoga stared at her. "Uh... all right. I'll just repeat all of what you said."

"Huh?"

Ryoga ticked it off on his fingers. "You kept my secret from Akane. You're uninfluenced and naiive. You're the only one who can hold a candle to me in a fight; and you're cute – handsome, muscular..."

Ranma hit him.

"And your cursed form is fun to..." He flushed. "I mean, you're a little wild and unpreditable... which makes my stomach hurt most of the time. But sometimes it's fun," he admitted. He shrugged. "Now is the less fun kind of unpredictable."

She nodded. "Yeah..." She offered him a smile. "Thanks, Ryo... I needed that..."

He shrugged. "What are imaginary husbands for?"

He was rewarded with a small laugh. "Okay, all right. You're doing better with this than I thought you would. I had this picture of you screaming 'prepare to die' and rushing me."

"Most of my 'prepare to die's were a long time ago," Ryoga countered.

"Oh, like, six months or something."

"Well – something like that. Anyway, the reason is that I don't know how to act. Rage seems wrong..."

"Well, I'm not looking a gift piggie in the mouth."

"Feh. So all this moping around... all this death-on-a-stick Ranma... is that you're pining... for _me_?"

"And Sachiko!" Ranma countered.

"What! You've got a wife, too!"

Ranma blinked. "Not a wife, you idiot, your daughter!"

_Your... daughter._ The words echoed in Ryoga's head. _I have a daughter._

_No! You DON'T!_ Ryoga shook his head wildly, shaking himself free of the odd and sudden leap of joy the information had aroused. "Er... so that's why you're upset?"

"That and trying to decide whether I'm really delusional or not, and keeping up appearances as if I'm normal. But I've decided to drop that last one."

"Obviously."

"So. Think I'm delusional?"

"Noooo..." Ryoga drawled. "I think you're... confused."

"Hn."

"Could be a reaction from all the crap you've been going through, you know."

"What, like a... breakdown?"

"Nonono!" Ryoga waved his hands abruptly in negation. "Like... like a reaction to a combination of spells, curses, or whatever."

"Oh. Like the spells combined in some way."

"Yes."

"To cause a delusional state."

"Sort of."

"That makes little to no sense, ya know."

"It was a shot in the dark, Ranma. I'm trying to explain this to myself so you don't seem like you've completely lost it."

"Well – and what if I'm right?"

"Then we both completely lost it."

"I don't know. Way I remember it, we were happy. We scarcely fought at all."

"We didn't? Now I KNOW it was a dream."

"Kind of deleriously happy, matter of fact. The first year we were married, you kinda wandered through in a daze. Me too, though, I guess. Combined shock and happiness will do that."

Ryoga stared at her for a moment. She really was beautiful. And funny, and exciting, and... _idiot. Stop it... stop it! Kissing her now would be like kissing someone who's drunk enough to pass out... she's flirting because she's in an altered mental state. _

"For our first anniversary, you wanted it to be special. We went to a steakhouse in America, and–"

"We went to America for our first anniversary?"

"Well... just for that one dinner."

Ryoga blinked at her. "Huh?"

"I forgot. Your directional curse – you can control it so that you go anyplace. Anything you're carrying goes with you. You swooped me up and off we went."

"_Control_ the curse?"

"You don't think you could have showed up for your marriage if you hadn't been able to _find_ the hall, did you?" Ranma winked at him. "We figured it out between us before Cologne went back to China. Your whole curse was just an extention of your innate chi abilities. Once you figured out how to control it, you could travel anywhere. It's another one of your good points, come to think of it. It's pretty amazing!"

Ryoga blinked. "C-control the c-curse..."

"Yeah. That's about how you looked when you figured it out the first time around, too."

"Could you teach me that?" Ryoga demanded, grabbing her hands in his.

Ranma blinked. "Well... yeah, sure. I'll have to think about it, but maybe tomorrow, I can..."

"Tomorrow?"

"Well, you aren't thinking of leaving now, are you? It's already too dark to find a good campsite..."

"Well... no." Ryoga looked down at their entwined hands and let go, blushing. "So... I learned to control the curse. I can't believe it..."

"Believe it," she said playfully.

"What else?"

Ranma paused in thought. "Well, you teach classes in the dojo, and–"

"We live here?"

"Along with Akane and Nabiki – though Akane comes by less and less these days," Ranma said, slipping inadvertently into present tense, "because of her acting? She's so good! Although I wish she'd keep up with the martial arts. It's really the only way we connect, anymore."

"But how'd she give up on you?" Ryoga demanded bitterly, thinking back to Akane's dejected posture as she followed behind Ranma.

"Well... she stepped aside for you, actually."

"For me?"

Ranma nodded. "She saw what was happening, and loved us enough to let us be. I've never been prouder of her and her control than that moment." She shook herself free of her thoughts. "You know... sitting up here on the roof, I could almost imagine that Sachiko is inside, in her crib, and that you're my husband and that it's returning to my past that's been the nightmare."

Ryoga's eyes crinkled and his brows lowered in sympathy. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, Ranma."

A small smile broke out on Ranma's features. "I'm not. Would you rather hate me?"

Ryoga blinked. "Uh... you know what? No, I don't think so. Ever since I've felt better about you... I've started feeling a little bit better about me. Does that make any sense?"

Ranma nodded. "Sure does. I sometimes bring out the worst in you. That or the best."

"That's because you're a challenge," Ryoga replied. "That's what challenges do."

Ranma's smile could have outshone the moon. "There you are! Thank you..."

"What?"

"You were my husband there... for just a minute," Ranma whispered.

His look of confusion dissolved into acceptance, a brief flicker of understanding, before shifting once more to confusion. "W-we should get back," he stammered, suddenly feeling slightly sick to his stomach. "The others will be wondering where we ran off to."

Ranma nodded, her injured, hopeless expression churning the contents of his gut more than a punch could ever hope to do, and offered him her arms, refusing to gaze into his features.

With a small sigh, Ryoga swept her up, and roof-hopped back to the fair.

When the pair alighted on the ground, they once again sought out the water barrels that lined the walkway around the fairgrounds. Ranma handed Ryoga her handkerchief, and he wiped the tear tracks away from her cheeks and from underneath her eyes. She smiled bravely and somewhat conspiratorally, as if to say, _now we've covered up all signs of the breakdown, you and me._

Ryoga suddenly realized how close they were. Since he usually thought of Ranma as a guy, he hadn't noticed how much of his personal space she was occupying. He wondered if anyone at the fair thought that they were dating.

Ranma's look of complicity had already turned into a small, awkward smile and a bright blush. She took one step closer and went on tip-toe.

_She'll kiss me!_ ran through his brain. Ranma's eyes were sliding shut; she was mere inches away.

Ryoga realized that he was lowering his neck slightly to meet her. _No! Ryoga, don't do this! Falling for her is asking for..._

"Ryoga!" a voice sounded out in the cacophany of the fair, and the would-be lovers sprung guiltily apart.

* * *

Author's Notes:

It's interesting how, in one plotline, Ryoga is trying to seduce Ranma, but in this one, it's the other way around. I think that twenty-something Ryoga got the rough end of the deal, there. It's probably a lot more difficult to seduce Ranma than Ryoga under any circumstances. Ryoga is so guillible, and sooo desperate for someone to love him that he's sometimes a little pathetic. Ranma, on the other hand, has a surfeit of admirers, and can afford to be a little blase about yet another. Moreover, Ranma's ideas about 'manliness' stand a good chance of getting in the way.

1 Kimono skirts are notoriously narrow. An American girl would fall over ten times a minute walking in one.


	13. Surprise!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: 2004

"Pops!"

Genma caught her up in his arms and gave her a rough squeeze before pulling back to view her face with a critical eye. "Letting yourself go, eh, Ranma?"

Ranma frowned. "Hey, I've been..." The word 'pregnant' seemed to catch in her throat. _'With child?' 'Bun in the oven?' _No easy way to put it, really, and euphemisms actually seemed to make it sound even _worse_. "Er..."

"You've been..." Genma prompted. He growled at her. "Never mind. There's no excuse for abandoning what I've taught you! You should be able to practice in your sleep, after what I put you through!"

Ranma blinked. "Well... yeah, er..."

"Ranma, even for you, you've gone... monosyllabic," Genma intoned. "Are you eating right? Have you been sleeping? Where's Ryoga?"

The mention of Ryoga seemed to do something to the redhead, straightening her shoulders and loosening her tongue. She berated herself; obviously her father knew that she and Ryoga were married. He'd been on the video, after all! "Er, Ryoga's at work, Pops. I've been eating and sleeping just fine... sort of," she mumbled. It hadn't been too easy to get to sleep the past week or so. "L-let me get you some tea."

Genma's brows quirked, but he nodded. "I'll go get washed up."

Once Genma had disappeared in the direction of the furo, Ranma scooted up the stairs like lightning, trying to find some clothing that her father would approve of. After a ransacking sort of search that resulted in a small new carpet of clean clothing on she and Ryoga's bedroom floor, she selected a loose black shirt and a pair of jeans. She managed to fix her hair and splash her face, arriving in the kitchen to put the kettle on just as her father descended the stairs.

"So," he said, after he'd been sitting at the table and watching her bustle in the kitchen. "Tea."

"Tea?"

"Tea. You've really become a housewife after all, then?"

Ranma flushed. "I just thought that the both of us could use some tea."

"You sound like Kasumi."

The redhead wasn't sure how to take this, although she knew how her father wanted her to. "In that I thought you might be thirsty and didn't mind getting you a drink? After not seeing you for a year?"

Genma blinked, then started laughing loudly. "All right, all right; you're not Kasumi." He eyed her again. "Sorry. I'm still getting used to it. The idea of you as a mother and all."

Ranma grinned in abject relief. She would not have to tell her father she'd been pregnant. Thank goodness for small miracles. "Yeah, well, me too," she replied with a watery smile. She affected a perfect housewife demeanour for her father. "Would you care for some sugar with that? Or do you take it plain?"

He laughed good-naturedly, which relaxed Ranma another notch.

"How is the girl, anyway?"

"Sachiko is fine," Ranma replied. "She's asleep upstairs, and before you ask, I am _not_ waking her up. She'll probably be up in another fifteen minutes or so; best savour the silence."

Genma nodded, sipping his hot tea. "Yeah, you were like that too. You'd never cool down! Poor Nodoka was ready to commit sepukku herself..."

Ranma couldn't stop the smile that kept breaking out onto her face. Her father hadn't ever spoken to her like this before. "Really? I was fussy?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. Kept having nightmares, too, at around two or three years old... about dinosaurs of all things."

"Dinosaurs!"

"Dinosaurs," Genma confided, eyeing her over the tea. "It would have been funny if you weren't so terrified..." His smile drooped very suddenly. "How's the... the cat thing?"

Ranma blinked. "The...?"

"Yes, how's it going? Did it work?"

"Work?"

Genma growled at her. "Yes, 'work', Ranma. The training you were doing for your ailurophobia."

Ranma sighed. He _was_ going to find out eventually. "Er... Pops..."

"No, eh?" Genma continued sipping his tea placidly. "Well, you win some, you lose some, I always say..."

Ranma examined him minutely as the older man sipped his tea. Genma hadn't aged much at all in the six years that she'd missed. The only thing she noticed was that what hair he had left was slightly whiter – that and the fact that his attitude had relaxed slightly, much in the way that Ryoga's had. She supposed that age mellowed a guy.

"Have you been back to see mom?" Ranma inquired.

"Hmm?" Genma was startled from his thoughts. "Oh, no, not yet. What, you think I'd wait to see my only son? No, it was you and the boy first."

It took a moment for Ranma to realize that she was no longer 'the boy', and that Genma had to be referring to Ryoga. "Y-yeah. Uh, listen..." Ranma swallowed thickly, examining the tabletop and twirling a finger in a small circle of spilled tea. "Uhm... there's been a little bit of excitement lately."

Genma's smile didn't waver; if anything, it deepened. "Yeah? Need help defeating something big and scary? Heh."

Ranma echoed her father's laugh, very nervously. "Well... sort of. See... I can't exactly remember the past six years or so."

For a moment, the hulking man said nothing, merely sipping his tea quietly. "Does Ryoga know?"

Ranma nodded. "Well, yeah. He kind of figured it out right away. When I ran from him screaming and all."

"Hmm."

The redhead examined her father in the light of early morning that was spilling into the house. He had his sage martial-artist face on. This meant one of two things: either he was about to drop a real pearl of wisdom in her lap, or he was about to say something that would get him slapped.

"The past six years, eh? So the last thing you'd remember is being engaged to Akane, with old Soun and his daughters all living in this house together? And fighting that Mousse boy and Tatewaki and Ryoga every day?"

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"I see. Well, in that case, you and the baby could always move in with me and your mother."

Ranma flushed, then coughed. Oddly, her father's suggestion fit into neither category. "Thanks. I'll... consider it."

Genma perked up. "You'll consider it? Well, the fact that he's still alive should have told me that the boy's playing his cards right."

Ranma twitched. She didn't know why, but every time Genma called Ryoga 'the boy', she felt irritated. "He hasn't got any _cards_, Pops, he just made me swear to stick around a little while, that's all." Ranma wondered just why it was that she was lying through her teeth. She'd already planned to stay with Ryoga a little bit longer, but she was angry, now. "Come on, you know me; do you actually think that I'd just decide to _live with someone_ on a whim? Some guy no less? Some _former enemy_ no less?"

Genma blinked at her. "Oh. I got it. Sorry." The older man shrugged, taking a calm sip of his tea. "It's just that, when a woman wakes up in a guys' pyjama top, it usually means–"

Ranma spat her mouthful of tea on the table, flushed, and ran into the kitchen for a rag. As she scrubbed the table – more than a bit harder than necessary – she interspersed glares between her father and the offending liquid. "For your information, we just slept, is all, we've barely even kissed! What do you think I am, some kind of pervert?" Her cheeks literally felt hot, now, so she knew she must be bright red, her anger and embarrassment clear. "And 'woman'! What is it with you people? What are you trying to do? Why do you all need me to be a woman! I'm _not_, all right! Not, not, _not_!"

Genma reached out to snag her scrubbing wrist in an iron grip, reminding Ranma very suddenly that he was her sensei as well as her father, and halting her decent into a temper. Her startled blue eyes met his and found them dark with pain. "Ranma... if you don't want me calling you 'woman', then why do you look like one?"

Ranma sighed, the anger draining from her, helplessness taking its place in a rapid but wearying flood. For a moment the spark of fury sustained her – how _dare_ he say things like that, when she was so obviously stuck? – but it dissipated rapidly. She _was_ stuck, after all, and was a woman. The fact that she took it as an insult wasn't too encouraging for her prospects of future happiness.

"No one's trying to 'make' you a woman, Ranma. Me least of all," Genma finished, releasing her. He shook his head. "Hmph. 'Pervert', and all this gender crap. You're echoes of Akane Tendo, today."

The redhead growled quietly under her breath as her father's eyebrows twitched up.

"Well, Ranma, let me see if I've got this right. You've fallen for the boy all over again, first of all. It's obvious. You're even wearing his clothes!"

Ranma opened her mouth to protest, but Genma halted her with a glare.

"But you're not certain. You're saying to yourself, 'is it really all right'?" The older man affected a high-pitched, uncertain and indubitably feminine tone of voice. "'Is it okay to leave things as they are?'"

"Listen, you– "

"Wondering if your parents... and friends... and old beaus can actually deal with all of this."

"That's not it at all!"

"Oh, but I think it is," Genma contradicted.

"Well. _Fine_," Ranma conceded angrily. "Here goes, then: why the hell did you let me marry the jerk? Didn't you try and talk me out of it? Didn't you kick Ryoga's ass? Didn't you tell me you'd disown me if I ever kissed a guy? And what about that seppuku pledge, huh?"

"There it is," Genma acknowledged with a small smile. "All right, I'll take 'em in order. Why did I let you marry the jerk? I didn't exactly have a say. Didn't I try to talk you out of it? Of course; I'm tolerant, not saintly. I'll leave that to Kasumi. I told you it was a fool mistake. As for kicking Ryoga's ass..." He coughed delicately. "Ryoga and I are actually pretty well-matched. It would be fair to say that the ass-kicking would be more or less mutual, unless I broke out some forbidden techniques..."

"And you didn't, for your only daughter!"

Genma raised an eyebrow, and Ranma flushed.

"S-son. _Son_."

"Well, I did, actually. Er... many times. Sort of got some respect for the boy that way. He sure can fight!"

Ranma's irritation flared again at Ryoga's new title. "So he just replaced me, is that it?"

Genma flinched. "What? No, of course not!"

"Then stop calling him 'the boy'! _I'm_ the boy!"

The old man stared at her blankly before beginning to guffaw. "If I'd known coming home would be this fun, I'd have done it ages ago!" He wiped a stray tear from his eye. "Where were we?"

Ranma was running an exasperated hand down her face. "Don't you take _anything_ seriously?"

"Hmm, disowning you. No, it never really entered my mind," the old martial artist admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "You're an investment, Ranma, an investment that I spent eighteen years developing. Abandoning that would be a poor idea, don't you think?"

Ranma was fuming. "Oh, I see, you just didn't want raising me to be a waste of time!"

"In a manner of speaking." He cleared his throat and finished his tea. "As for the sepukku, it didn't really seem like anything I did was going to stop you two..." He chuckled. "Man, that brings back memories! The first time I thought you two were going at it, I–"

"_Father!_"

Genma paused, his small grin telling Ranma that he'd been joking.

"Can't you tell I'm serious? I'm still trying to figure out what brought us together in the first place." She paused. "I mean, sure, I can see it _now_. He's so together and mature... and _patient_ and understanding... aaand..." she drawled, her eyes catching her father's. "Er. Well, anyway... but back then. I can't see what would have made it happen back then."

"Well, you and Ryoga had a lot in common."

"Pops, me an' _Kodachi_ are both martial artists. That don't mean I'd marry her."

"Nah; there were other things."

"Like?"

Genma's playful expression dissipated. "Oh, you know. Loneliness in a crowd. Being angry all the time when you weren't in the depths of despair. Dark cloud of depression constantly hanging over you..."

Ranma blinked. "Eh?" She worried her lower lip between her teeth. "Okay, I can get pissed off, I gotta admit... but it's not a _constant_ thing. And depressed? Maybe when I'm beaten, yeah, but then after that, I come back so strong that..." She trailed off, observing the faint line of worry that had appeared on her father's forehead. "Pops...?"

"No one else told you the story?"

"Story? About what?" Frowning, she thought back. "Akane said something about my bein' upset awhile back, and that Ryoga was the only one who could make me smile..."

"Something like that," Genma replied quietly. "Son..."

"I didn't... hurt myself... did I?"

Genma swallowed. "Well... you didn't try to commit suicide, or anything. It was more of a constant, low-level sort of trouble, the kind I'm worst at dealing with. Once, you punched through the deck – wouldn't tell us the reason. Banged your hand up pretty bad. Another time, you just left the house and didn't come back for two days. When we asked where you'd been, you said, 'walking'..." The balding man wiped at his brow, his gaze faraway. "But when you stopped caring when Akane cried, I really started to understand just how far you'd gone from the child you used to be."

"I'm sorry, Pops."

Genma laughed, suddenly and a bit out-of-place. "Hey now, hard to apologize for something you don't even remember doing, isn't it? Besides all that, it wasn't your fault. Cologne told me it was the cumulation of all of the pressures that were constantly on you... but I always thought something had to have started you on that downward spiral. You wouldn't talk about what it had been, even after you were feeling better."

"So Ryoga and I had depression in common?"

"He understood you," the older man clarified. "There was something new in you, something that he recognized and could speak to, that no one else could. That's the answer, if there is any one answer for how two people fall for one another. There was a lot of mutual confusion between the two of you, a lot of embarrassment and denial and averted eyes, our own little daytime drama unfolding."

Genma's words went into her and filled the missing bits of the past like a key fitting into a lock. Ryoga had saved her in some way; and although she didn't know how, she suspected she had also saved him. Their mutual rescue had turned into love somewhere along the way.

"Thanks, Pops," she said.

A wail sounded from upstairs.

"Well, it looks like Sachiko is interested in meeting her grandfather..."

Genma smiled as he trailed Ranma up the stairs.

Watching Genma with Sachiko did a little to soothe Ranma's nerves, especially when she saw how gently the older man treated Sachiko. Sachiko, for her part, was a remarkably friendly baby; after a couple of glances in her mother's direction for reassurance, she was giggling at Genma's attempts to entertain her.

"She certainly looks like you and Nodoka," Genma conceded. "Guess that's for the best all around, eh?"

"Pops...?"

"Mmm?" Genma swung the baby around in the air.

"You ain't training her for nothing."

Genma chuckled. "Mommy doesn't mean it," he told the baby.

* * *

That evening, trying to teach Sachiko new words as she cooked, Ranma ruminated over what she'd learned from her father. Although she now had a pretty complete picture of what had happened to her – except for the event that had started it all – much of the emotional reality was still missing. It was missing in the present, however, not the past. It was somehow linked to certain things she'd been doing, certain ways she'd been acting. Despite the fact that she felt that she might really come to like Ryoga... like that... her father's behavior and Ryoga's told her that there was still something 'off' about the way she was acting. Something Genma had said simply stuck in her mind, about perverts and 'all this gender crap', and she recalled Ryoga saying that he didn't really mind she'd been a guy.

_Was_ a guy?

The tiny revellation was enough to stop her in her tracks. "Uhm..." she whispered. Sachiko was beginning to fall asleep in her baby swing, so Ranma took her out and began to bounce her a bit. It was too close to the child's bedtime for her to let Sachiko doze off. She wanted to get _some_ sleep tonight, after all.

Now that Ranma thought about it, the Tendo girls and Ukyo had started talking about how Ranma had started to make gender nearly meaningless by her very presence. At the time, Ranma had thought that the girls must have been talking about how Ranma had changed her gender identity for good... that she was now a woman, where before, she'd been a man.

Could they have meant something entirely different? Could they have been talking about the fact that, _even though Ranma was a man..._ was really, still a man... she was with Ryoga? Or even that, where Ranma was concerned, the line between genders simply blurred?

Ranma shook her head firmly, but more pieces began to slide into place. Ryoga hadn't just said that he didn't really mind about her being a guy in the past. He'd told her, '_You're a paragon of a lot of things, Ranma, but housewife isn't one of them... You don't cook or clean for me any more than I cook or clean for you. I don't give you an allowance, or anything like that. You have a job. We waited to have children... Are you beginning to get a picture, here?_'

At the time, Ranma had nodded begrudgingly, but she realized now that she hadn't been getting the right picture at all.

Ranma swallowed past the lump in her throat, clutching Sachiko tightly as she paced the kitchen. Ukyo had told her that Ryoga loved every part of her. Taken literally, it caused that now-familiar churn of discomfort in her stomach.

Taken figuratively, it suddenly made a lot of sense.

It made so much sense it was scary. Thinking back, Ranma couldn't recall exactly when she'd become familiar with her female form – it had just stopped being such a big deal. Annoying, but... oh, well. It was the price you paid for a strong education in martial arts. That was how Ranma had thought of it, on the surface.

Over the years, how many female mannerisms had she picked up? One: the ability to flirt, more complicated than it would appear at first glance. Two: wide, shimmering eyes, pouting lips, fists clutched under her chin – the pathetic lost-little-girl act. Three: summing up an outfit, its potential for Happousai entrapment, Ryoga-fooling or just going for a sundae. Four: sultry, lowered eyes – the combination of sex and innocence that men seemed to find intoxicating. It was a difficult balance, hard to achieve... Five: the ability to attract and keep a husband.

Damn.

Had her sense of masculine and feminine finally just bled together? Had that line blurred, as one by one the distinctions became unimportant?

Sachiko burbled in her sleep. Ranma looked down at her little daughter and sighed. "Sachiko, honey..."

She _was_ Sachiko's mother. That had exponentially increased her level of misunderstanding.

"Saki-chan..."

Sachiko blinked her eyes sleepily at her mother, her face screwing up and getting ready to cry.

"Aww, sweetie, don't-"

The small child let out a yell that seemed to shake the rafters. It certainly seemed to shatter Ranma's eardrums. "C'mon, kid, don't do this to me..."

When Sachiko continued to wail lustily, Ranma bounced her around the kitchen with renewed agitation.

"Mou... Maybe it's time for a bottle. What do you think?" she asked the child quietly. "Hmm?" She withdrew a bottle from the refridgerator and nuked a cup of hot water to set it in. "Is it milk time?"

When Ranma offered her the warmed bottle, Sachiko angrily shoved it away.

"C'mon, Saki-chan, you _know_ you're hungry."

Sachiko almost certainly _was_ hungry, but she was upset about having been woken, and wasn't really all that interested in her mother's attempts to placate her.

In desperation, Ranma began to hum the first song that came to mind. Sachiko's sobs grew very suddenly less pronounced in response, her dark blue eyes going wide. Taking heart, the redhead began to sing: "_yesterday the odds were stacked in favor of my expectations..._"

Sachiko blinked at her mother in what looked like shock. Ranma had to wonder if she normally sang to the little girl.

"_I'm caught up in all my doubt, trying to sort the whole thing out. Tell me that I'm smart enough to deal with all the information..._"1

Sachiko clapped her hands.

"Well, lookie here. Seems I've got a fan," Ranma replied. "Think I should go professional?" She swung the small girl through the air, and Sachiko giggled, her anger forgotten. The small redhead groped for her milk. "So _now_ you want it, do you? Hmph."

Ranma looked around the kitchen. "So I never transformed at all, Saki-chan?"

Sachiko, hearing her name, glanced up at her mother inquisitively. She said something around the nipple of the bottle that sounded suspiciously like, "baka".

"I'm me. I was always me." She bounced the baby on her hip as a wide, slow grin was crept across her features. Her eyes earnestly found Sachiko's. "Ryoga-kun said I was a martial arts instructor before I had you. What do you say? Think it's about time to start that up again?"

Sachiko burbled.

"I knew you would."

* * *

When Ryoga came home, Ranma had given up on Sachiko and put her to bed. It was entirely likely that the little girl hadn't slept all that well the night before because of the girls' night in.

Ryoga sniffed the air. "Whoa. What are you making?"

"Baked chicken, green beans and yams," Ranma replied with a small smile. It was strange, but, after no longer associating cooking with an encroaching tide of femininity, she'd had the sudden urge to make something elaborate.

"Smells great," Ryoga replied. "How's Sachiko?"

"Mmm, she's fine. Sleeping."

He glared at her. "You _know_ that if she sleeps now, she won't sleep through the night..."

Ranma chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Where'd ya hear a stupid thing like that?"

Ryoga blinked. He leaned in to examine her.

"Well? What?"

The Lost Boy's eyes slowly took her in. "...nothing," he returned at length.

"Hmph. Well, anyway... I was busy today. I made up some flyers, wanna see?"

Ryoga nodded. "Flyers?"

"They're on the table." Ranma busied herself with the salad, vaguely aware of Ryoga moving towards the table, and hearing the rustling of papers.

Ryoga's voice sounded slightly strange, choked. "You're... you're starting up classes again...?"

There was something plaintive in his tone, but Ranma brutally reigned in on her defensive desire to snap at him. She tried to be relaxed, tried to think of Ryoga as her friend instead of her husband.

Surprisingly, her blush cooled. "Yeah, I figured it was about time," she replied easily. "I talked to Nabiki, Akane and Ukyo. Nabiki told me she could sit here on Thursday nights and watch Sachiko. Ukyo and Akane said they could come by on Wednesdays, and Akane said she could come alone to sit and do her homework and stuff all Tuesday."

Ryoga's face crumpled even further, but Ranma continued blithely on, despite beginning to believe that either she'd made some kind of awful mistake, or she'd been wrong about her personality not altering all that much over the years.

"So I figured that I'd do just two or three classes at first, ease back into it, you know? I'm sure I'm out of shape; even Pops said so."

This seemed to jolt Ryoga from his daze. "Oh? Your father's back?"

Ranma smiled crookedly. "Yup. And already on about taking our daughter on a training trip. You should listen to the guy. It's like the first time wasn't a complete and utter disaster."

Ryoga's lower lip trembled. He stood, taking her by the shoulders and staring at her face, his eyes darting over her features as though looking for an outward sign of her transformation. "Ranma..." he breathed quietly.

"W-what is it? What'd I do?"

"It's... it's you."

Ranma drew back to watch him, concern in her eyes. "Damn it, Ryoga. I didn't remember it all, if that's what you're thinking."

He gave a small gasp, jolted slightly away from her. The pain was rapidly replaced with a wry bitterness, and he barked a laugh, rubbing fiercely at his eyes. "Sorry... but you're acting... you're acting like my wife..."

Ranma flushed. "Er..."

"And you're starting classes here..."

"Well, yeah. I figured I'd had enough of sitting on my butt..."

"But that means you're staying."

Ranma frowned in thought. "Yeah. Guess it does."

"You're staying."

"Well... yeah."

"You're staying!"

Ranma frowned at him. "I'm beginning to lose patience."

"Oh, _please_ lose patience! Yell at me for something stupid, or... or call her 'our daughter' again..."

The redhead smiled shyly. "_Dumbass_. You need to set a better example for _our daughter_." She grinned. "Was that okay?"

Ryoga grinned and drew her into a hug. "Man... what happened to _you_?"

"What happened to _you_ is more like it," Ranma protested once Ryoga set her back down. "I mean, honestly. A flyer and a visit from Pops and you're all aflutter."

The expression on Ryoga's face was well worth the moment it took to gently tease him. Her husband's eyes filled very suddenly with tears; a large smile adorned his features. Rapidly wiping his eyes, he moved to check on the chicken.

Ranma felt a sudden and surprising rush of tenderness for him, and she realized that this was probably the first time she'd seen the real Ryoga since he'd opened the door and begged her not to hate him.

"Y'know, _I _can watch Sachiko sometimes, too. I am her father, you realize," Ryoga said in a voice that sounded nearly normal again. "If I watch her some of the other nights, we can get that place going again."

_We_, Ranma realized with what she saw as a juvenile leap of enthusiasm. "Mmm, probably," she replied, trying not to let her joy spill over too much. "How much did I charge per lesson?"

"You didn't, per lesson. It was more like per month, 8200 yen per month. But there were a couple of kids that got by free or on a discount by doing us some favors. There was that college kid, what's-her-face, Aiko, who cleaned the dojo every day after practice and helped out some of the younger kids. She'll probably be happy to get the same deal again." He eyed her. "You look great, by the way."

Ranma raised an eyebrow as she examined her outfit, which had been engineered to impress her father rather than Ryoga. She took in her loose dark tee shirt and jeans, then rolled her eyes at him. "Great for what, exactly? This ain't fancy, or anything."

Ryoga grinned at her shyly. "That's why it's great."

"All right, all right. Too much sugar and you'll spoil your appetite," Ranma chided blandly. "I'll be right back. Watch the beans, or they'll burn."

Once in the furo, Ranma leaned against the door for a moment to gather herself. Ryoga liked _her_, Ranma, not some girlish figment. And although that should have been strange, or scary, or maybe even disgusting, Ranma found herself humming instead, humming the same song as before, and grinning confidently at herself in the mirror.

Girl or no, there was something special about watching somebody enjoy food she'd cooked, especially if she had worked hard enough. Ranma spontaneously forgave Akane for all the times she'd tried to cook. It wasn't just feminine, that nurturing impulse, it was a very _human_ gesture of affection. Ryoga's exclamations of happy surprise warmed her, although she kept quiet about it.

Their talk was surprisingly devoid of matters of the heart. Ranma spoke about her ideas concerning the classes, what levels she would offer and at what times they would attract the most students. They talked about where Ranma could post her flyers, where they would garner the most attention. Ryoga told a funny story from work that Ranma actually found funny.

Ranma, looking at him really enjoy himself with her, realized that she had started to like a shadow of the real Ryoga: he was a lot more than the stoicism and patience he'd been showing her. She'd seen hints of his humor all along, but now she was realizing that it was his general demeanor to crack the occasional wry joke. His sense of humor seemed to be rooted in observing human nature and making fun of it, a lot like Nabiki's. Ranma wondered if this was the other side of his deep depression; he still saw what he saw, but was able to take it a lot less seriously.

Yet there was always that element of the serious about him, as though everything were of grave importance, especially when she was speaking. Even when she was teasing him, his head was cocked to one side, listening to the words and sorting the meaning behind them.

As Ryoga began to clear up, Ranma gazed at the flyers. She had to have realized that they meant she was sticking around. And it wasn't because it was convenient, or because Ryoga was guilible, or because she didn't know what she would do if she left.

"So you're really staying?"

Ranma's head snapped up in surprise. "You read thoughts, now?"

He chuckled. "Er... no. I'm sorry if I sound like a broken record."

Ranma leveled him an I'm-Very-Serious stare. "You'd better believe it. Hand me a dish, okay?"

Ryoga complied, grabbing a clean towel from under the cabinet. "You won't remember this," he began.

"Story of my brand-new life," Ranma sighed.

"...but dishwashing has a special meaning for us."

Ranma stared at him blankly. "You aren't serious. You're telling me you somehow made dishwashing romantic."

He laughed, drying the dish Ranma had handed him. "Romantic, no. More like practical. You and I both have some... er... anger-management issues."

"That so? I haven't seen any so far."

"Because the gods have smiled down on me this past week," Ryoga replied flatly. "There have been many times I wanted to yell..."

"So what do dishes have to do with tempers? Did we throw them at one another?"

"Of course not. But if we were having a stupid, meaningless arguement at dinner, once of us would signal and we'd both have to shut up. We washed the dishes together – _silently –_ and once it was over, we both had the ability to be civil again."

Ranma blinked. "Weird."

"Worked every time, though," Ryoga countered with a shrug. "With most silly arguments, it's not like you can even remember why you were so upset after the first ten minutes." He dried one of the dishes, taking it from her hands and stacking it beside the growing pile. "Housework is also very Zen."

"Did Kasumi think this one up?"

Ryoga feigned surprise. "Wow. How'd you guess?"

"The words 'housework' and 'Zen' were in the same sentence."

"Mmm."

"Do you think we can spar some, later?" Ranma inquired.

Ryoga gazed at her in surprise before rapidly covering that with a cough. "Well... yeah, I have Mondays off. If you want to spar then, that'd be great. It's been awhile."

Ranma sensed that once again she'd done something pretty unexpected from Ryoga's point of view, but she didn't care. She was going to be herself, and if Ryoga didn't like that, he could just... well... She frowned in sudden confusion. _Well, okay, so I care if he likes me... but I'm not willing to pretend to be somebody else so he does_. It was a faint distinction, but one that mattered to her.

They fell into a companionable silence, Ranma occasionally plunging her hands into the steamy water to retrieve a chopstick or small tasting-spoon.

"I've had this question on my mind for the past couple of days," Ryoga suddenly said, running a cloth over a dish that was long since dry. "You seem like you're in a good mood right now, so maybe it's the best time."

Ranma arched an eyebrow at him. "Uh oh."

"When you first came here, you were..."

"Obnoxious?" Ranma cut in, already beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Upset," Ryoga countered, finally putting the plate to the side. "And feeling... threatened."

Ranma nodded silently, tucking a strand of red hair behind one ear in a slightly nervous gesture. "'M sorry, Ryoga, I was really mean– "

Ryoga held up one hand. "Just for a second, imagine if our positions had been reversed."

Ranma's blue eyes widened. "Erk."

"Yeah. Like... the whole koi rod thing. I probably would have tried to defeat you on the spot. Not that the modern Hibiki Ranma would have ever let me get away with that; she'd be far better than the old me." He flashed a quiet grin, his head still lowered slightly over the washcloth he was holding. "She probably would have tied me up and lectured me on my duty as a husband."

Ranma snerked. "You mean she wouldn't have tried to prove her love and loyalty by washing your clothes and making you breakfast?"

"Now you're just teasing."

Ranma shrugged. "Well, yeah, okay. Maybe it was only natural for me to freak out. So what did you want to ask?"

Ryoga paled. "Well... it's just... I'd think that someone in your position would automatically want to turn back into a guy, you know? Why have you been using the soap?"

Ranma froze, then turned slowly to look at him. "W-what?" She looked down into the hot water in the sink, trembling slightly, a head-to-toe tremble that made her set the final dish down into the water with exaggerated care. At the feel of hands on her shoulders she flinched.

"Ranma. Ranma?"

"It's the soap, then?"

"Well sure, I use it every morning. It would kind of be the end if I were at work holding something heavy, and some cold water got... well, you get the idea..."

Ranma nodded mutely.

"Are you telling me you didn't _realize_ that you were using that weird soap? The _white_ soap is yours. Okay?"

Ranma shook her head. "But... Sachiko."

"Well, sure, when you were pregnant, you used it, too." He gazed at Ranma's slack features for a moment before adding, "this complicates it for you, doesn't it?"

"So who wore the wedding dress, huh?"

Ryoga looked slightly irritated. "You, obviously, having a girls' body half the time. I'd have looked pretty silly in one."

"Me, obviously? So I was _playing_ the girl this whole time, for you?"

Ryoga's expression was stormy. "I guess I don't understand."

"I married you even though I was never stuck..."

"That's right. Wanna ask again?" Ryoga's expression had slipped from upset to combatative, but Ranma didn't mind. In fact, it felt kind of good; she was back on very familiar ground.

"Don't you realize how perverted that is?"

For thirty seconds or so, Ryoga was silent. Watching his face, Ranma wondered if she'd gone a little bit too far, calling him a pervert for... for marrying her? Ranma was filled with a sudden confusion.

And after a moment of internal silence, all the voices not-her-father rose in an overwhelming chorus: _'does that even make sense?', 'who says?' _and_ 'You like him.'_ _'If you're a pervert, then so are Ukyo and Akane and Ryoga, too.'_

And she liked him. She really did. And she didn't really care what anyone else thought or said about it, or did to try and make her feel bad for liking him. He was... patient and sweet and good and great at martial arts and he held her like he never wanted to let her go... He was everything she wanted in a...

Something within her firmed and steadied.

He was everything she'd ever wanted in a _person_.

Ranma opened her eyes to view something she hadn't seen in a long time: Ryoga at boiling point. "Erk," Ranma said quietly.

"Fine!" Ryoga exploded. "So you suppose that all of this was my doing, right? You think that I just decided one day, 'right! I'm going to fall for Saotome Ranma!'? _No!_ This was hard for me! Don't you think I struggled with this, too? I was in love with _Akane_, for the sake of kami-sama! And then all of a sudden, I start looking at _you_, _YOU_, and I don't know what the hell's wrong with me, I _know_ you're not a girl, but..." He seemed to relax slowly, his rage coming undone, falling away from him. "But I loved you anyway. I didn't care if you were stuck or unstuck, even though..." He coughed. "Even though your guy form freaked me out sometimes, especially at first."

Ranma swallowed around the lump in her throat, wanting to stop him from being angry, and yet needing to understand this. She could not just let things sit.

"I mean, you spent most of the time as a girl when you were around me, but after we got married, it's not like I could help stumbling across you in your guy form once in awhile. It drove the both of us crazy. Finally one day you'd had enough, and you wouldn't change anymore."

"I stayed a girl?" Ranma whispered.

"No! _You wouldn't change back from a guy_!"

Ranma frowned. "I don't get it."

"It pissed you off, the way I acted when you changed. We argued, and you made it very clear that if I couldn't deal with your guy form, I was a no-good lousy jerk who didn't deserve you."

Ranma coughed into her hand, surprised when the cough turned into choked laughter.

"Well, yeah, we laugh about it now," Ryoga murmured.

Ranma frowned. "Weird. 'We' laugh about it 'now'... when I don't even recall having this fight."

"We're having it now, aren't we?"

"Hmm." Ranma kept her reply neutral, but it was obviously true; and she couldn't help but marvel at the fact that they were running down a well-worn road in their dealings with one another. It was as though they were playing out their entire relationship in fast-forward. "So what happened?"

"I... dealt. And you compromised. I learned to stop overreacting to your male form, and you just stayed a girl three-quarters of the time. The Tendo sisters made the worst fun of us, especially Nabiki – they all assumed we'd dealt with that all-too-obvious issue way before we got married." He snorted. "We... er... kind of pretended it _wasn't_ an issue until it was almost too late."

Ranma snorted. "Okay. Hey, I mean, why not? I'm still a guy. I kind of realized that I was on the _inside_... why not the outside, too?"

Ryoga placed his hands on her shoulders. "You okay with this?"

"Well... I mean, yeah, I guess. I've always thought of myself as a guy. If you can deal with being married to a guy... then I sure can deal with being one. I mean I've always been one... but..." She blinked. "I'm babbling, aren't I?"

Ryoga leaned in close and kissed her gently on the lips. Pulling back a couple of centimeters, he whispered, "does that help?"

Ranma smiled. "Mmm. Well, maybe." She leaned forward slightly and Ryoga caught her lips in his again. "Was that our first fight?"

"No." Ryoga kissed her again. "Our first fight was... depending on how you look at it... either in junior high... or when you first... 'arrived' here and ran off..."

"Mmm." Ranma wrapped her arms around his waist. "But this may be the first time we've made up," she murmured. Inside, her heart was singing. She had _both_ of her bodies! If she splashed herself enough, she could remove the soap and change back for awhile. For as long as she liked!

"Maybe," Ryoga drawled, pulling her slightly closer. He examined her features closely, smiling at her. "You know, maybe it's your memories, but you look... different."

Ranma tilted her head to one side. "Different how? I thought you said I was always the same."

He grinned apologetically. "You are, personality-wise. But somehow, lately..."

"What? Cuter? Sexier?" She frowned. "Flabbier? Pops said I looked out of practice."

Ryoga shrugged. "Oh, well." He leaned in and kissed her again, slow and soft. "Maybe it's your attitude. But you almost look... younger."

The redhead blinked at him, then began to laugh. "Oh, _please_. That's some kind of pick-up line, huh? Better brush up on it, hadn't you? You'll never catch a wife with that."

Ryoga barked a laugh. "Oh, really? I think I have certain skills that compensate for my lack of flattery."

"Put your money where your – mmph!" she exclaimed, as Ryoga pressed his mouth to hers, much more demandingly this time. His hands roamed her stomach beneath her tee shirt, playfully tracing her navel.

_Kami-sama..._ Ranma thought, arching her head back. Ryoga took her hint and nuzzled her neck. _...are we... are we going to do 'it' right here... in the middle of the kitchen floor? K-Kasumi's kitchen?_ It was an idle thought, maybe funny, maybe serious.

Then Ryoga froze in his attentions.

Ranma made a small noise of querying protest, opening her eyes, not quite sure when she'd closed them.

Ryoga's fingers moved along her abdomen again, more carefully this time.

"That tickles," she replied, her eyes locked to his. "What's the matter?" All of a sudden, she found that she had fallen back to land on her butt.

"Ryoga...?" Ranma was not certain how she'd ended up on the floor. He... couldn't have _pushed_ her, could he?

"W-who t-the _hell_...!" he hissed, backing away from her.

"What!" She saw the panic in his eyes. "What are you talking about!"

"You're not Ranma," he moaned, covering his hands with his eyes. "Oh, God, what have I done!"

"What!" Ranma found her feet faster than she would have thought possible. "That some kind of joke?" She stumbled towards him. "What are you saying?"

His eyes were on her again, bleak and grey as a winter storm. "You're not my wife," he repeated softly. "I t-told you h-how... how Sachiko took her own sweet time coming into the world..."

Ranma nodded, feeling like she couldn't look away from his empty eyes, despite a sudden premonition of a very dark danger.

"E-eventually, m-my wife's... doctor... g-gave her a C-section."

"A what?"

Ryoga buried his face in his hands again. "They cut open her stomach to get Sachiko..."

Ranma frowned. "I don't understand. So?"

Ryoga took her wrist in his hand and led it to Ranma's own, smooth abdomen – her hands then immediately flew to cover every familiar line of the skin under her breasts and down to just above her privates. "No..." she whispered.

"There's no scar," Ryoga finished.

Upstairs, the baby that wasn't Ranma's began wailing again, shrill and plaintive.

------

Author's Notes:

------

I know what some of you are thinking, but yes, it is possible. I myself am an example, and I know several others in the real world, much less an anime one. Sorry for revealing this plot point early in chapter nine by mistake... but there are a couple of comments I feel I ought to reply to. One is the 'mistake' about where the C-section scar would be - but there are at least two popular incision-types for C-sections, one longitudinal, the other latitudinal; these days it's the longitudinal one that is most common. Therefore Ryoga would be perfectly justified in his panic if he were feeling Ranma's lower stomach/upper abdomen and found nothing there. I also guarantee you that it is not a mistake that Ranma has the scar at all. A handful of reviewers already caught on...

For those of you who aren't sure what I'm saying yet, you'll find out in chapter fifteen.

Keep reading, keep writing, and I'll see you next time!

1 Allison Kraus and Union Station is the group. I thought the songdid pretty well at explaining parts of Ranma's story in this timeline.


	14. All's Fair

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: 1998

Ryoga felt his face drain of color as his name was called. Springing back, he searched for the source of the voice.

"And Ranko-chan!"

Ranma blinked. "Momma?"

Nodoka blinked in almost exactly the same fashion. "What was that, Ranko?"

Ranma shook her head wildly. "I mean... uh, Nodoka-san... auntie? What a surprise!"

It was. Despite the fact that they had known that Nodoka would be at the fair, they hadn't been aware that she'd be in charge of one of the booths.

Nodoka was dressed in a black kimono with little red dragons running around the collar and hem. She was standing beneath a large banner which proclaimed that she sold herbs, sachets, crystals, and charms of various kinds.

"Nodoka-san..." Ryoga breathed, reading the sign.

The older woman colored. "Oh! Well, I have to do something on the side. I'm certain you children understand. A woman alone can't simply hope for kindness from strangers. Excuse me," she concluded as a customer timidly approached.

"My boyfriend," the young woman began to whisper, and from that point on she was inaudible to the pair of teenagers.

"Oooh, so this is where you two wandered off to!" Ukyo exclaimed cheerfully, finding the pair underneath Nodoka's black and red banner.

"Wow, charms!" Akane exclaimed, her black mood finally lifting. "Want to get one, Ukyo?"

Ukyo smiled and winked. "We'll see, sugar. Lessie what they got, hmm?" She eased up to Ryoga. "What's wrong with _you_?" she whispered. "I leave you alone one second and you and Ranchan are gone! I thought I'd find you in Tampoco someplace!"

Ryoga's entire body shivered for a moment as though he'd been shaken, or doused with cold water, or had suddenly awoken from a nightmare. "Oh," he said in a curiously flat voice. "Sorry. I was talking to Ranma. Did you know his mother's a witch?"

Ukyo frowned. "Ryoga, that isn't nice! Ranma's family definitely has its downside, but it's _not_ Saotome Nodo...ka..." She broke off as she caught sight of the proprietress. "Oh. That kind." She brightened. "Cool!"

Nodoka pressed a small package into the woman's hands, and the young lady seemed to melt back into the crowd. "Well, well, well!" she exclaimed. "So many young people come to my booth!"

Akane smiled as she gazed at the way Nodoka filled out the dark kimono. "Auntie, you're hardly the old maid type."

Ranma nodded. Her mother seemed to be glowing, tonight. "How long have you been... uh, doing this?"

Nodoka tilted her head, frowning in concentration. "Let me see; perhaps it's been seven years or so. Now; how many of you girls would like a love charm? I'd lay bets that all of you have a sweetheart, if I were the betting kind."

Ranma smiled politely, a little forcedly, but Akane and Ukyo laughed nervously. "Well..." Ukyo admitted.

"Let's see. We've got a wide variety of love charms, here. Enchanted red thread, dove's hearts, koi rod, and of course an actual potion which must be consumed – but I don't recommed it. Side-effects, you know."

"Koi rod?" Akane stammered.

"You really ought to burn those," Ryoga advised in that same passionless voice.

"Ah, a group that speaks from experience," Nodoka murmured. "How strange. Most of the young people I come across don't have all that much knowledge of the occult."

"Oh. Well, we're well-versed," Ukyo commented dryly. "Comes from hanging around Ran..." she trailed off. "Er... Ran...ko."

Nodoka smiled gently. "I see. Ranko, dear, is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Ranma froze. "Er... n-no..."

"I see." Nodoka's grave air lifted and she grinned again, a merchant simply selling her wares. "So, any charms? Hmm. I'll let you four back here, just this once, because I trust you not to meddle or make a mess. You can take a good look around and let me know what you'd like."

She lifted a small tent flap and guided her daughter into the back area. Ranma was followed by Ukyo, then Ryoga, then Akane.

Ryoga felt as though he was being frog-marched. He wanted to get away, but it was impossible to escape.

"Wow, look at this!" Akane enthused, causing Ukyo to scurry over to look. "Perfect Crystal?"

Ukyo peered at the small glass box with the clear top that rested in Akane's hands. A stunning milky-white crystal shone from the confines of the container. "Wow is right," Ukyo breathed. "That would make some necklace, Akane."

Akane nodded, then smiled a little mischeviously. "Moon Power, Make Up!" she announced, lifting the crystal above her head.

Nodoka's voice floated back to them. "I wouldn't do that, dear." Her voice was loud and insistent.

Ukyo and Akane exchanged a skeptical glance, but placed the crystal rapidly back where they'd found it.

"You don't suppose..." Akane whispered.

"Naw," Ukyo assured her. "Just part of Saotome-san's schtick, that's all."1

Meanwhile, Ranma was rooting around in bags of mixed herbs, bringing some to her face and smelling. "Mmm, Ryoga. This is a good one." She handed the bag to the Lost Boy, who looked at it as though he'd never seen a baggie of plants before. "Smell it," she urged.

Ryoga sighed and complied. Suddenly, his head felt a lot less like it was stuffed with wool. "Whoa. What's _that_?" He peered at the bag, which simply had a number written on it in permanent marker, and a price.

"Hope it's not truth serum or anything," Ranma giggled, still pawing through the mix.

"So you really believe in this stuff?"

Ranma shrugged. "Why not? I don't think my mom's a huckster, Ryoga."

"That's not what I meant. Maybe _she_ believes. That doesn't mean anything."

"It does, sort of. Intent is nine tenths of action," Ranma murmured. "Oh, that's another nice one. Smell this."

Ryoga obeyed. "Like fire," he huffed, coughing helplessly for at least a full minute.

"Whoa." Ranma thumped him on the back. "Breathe, Ryo. Breathe." She grabbed the clearing mixture and placed it by his nose.

Ryoga breathed deeply, of course. He was still trying to clear whatever had a hold on him, and so the moment that he _could_ get some air, he did, and a lot of it.

The clean, sharp smell assaulted his nose immediately. He stopped coughing almost right away; but now, instead of feeling simply clear-headed, the entire universe seemed to have taken on jagged edges. Everything was too bright, too close, too loud. Ranma's hair hurt his eyes, and the fair outside sounded like a herd of elephants. His own clothing seemed so rough that it was sure to cut him to pieces. And his own gasp of pain and surprise seemed to shatter the world.

Nodoka rushed back to him and skidded half on her knees, ending up next to the panicking boy. Examining his eyes, she frowned and cursed quietly and withdrew one of the bandannas from the Lost Boy's forehead. Immediately she fashioned it into a blindfold and covered his eyes. She drew two small squares of gauze from a small stack by some half-prepared herbs and stuffed them in his ears.

Ryoga's breathing slowed. He felt almost normal. Except for the fact that he could smell Nodoka's righteous anger, a clean high note like a lemon passed through fire; Akane and Ukyo's confusion, a tight uncomfortable slightly bad smell; and Ranma's guilt, a worried sweaty smell.

"I'm so sorry Auntie," she was saying rapidly. "I didn't think _smelling_ them would do any harm, I–"

"For some of these, that's all it takes to activate them," Nodoka chided in a chill but controlled voice. "What else did the two of you smell?"

Ryoga heard the sounds of certain things being passed to Nodoka.

"Hmm. One-fifty-three and two-twenty-nine. All right. No harm done, child. Don't look so glum. This'll teach you to meddle with magic you don't understand."

"Yes, auntie," Ranma whispered, sounding heartbroken.

"There, there, dear. I'm not angry. Not really. Why don't you put those back and look at the crystals for awhile?"

Ryoga scented Nodoka's anger dissolving in the face of Ranma's contrition. Now she herself smelled a little guilty, but also very wary, like she was afraid the same thing might happen again. Hesitant.

"Let's see you now, Mister Hibiki," Nodoka breathed, almost to herself. "Brace yourself."

Ryoga flinched at the feel of her fingers forcing his lips open, gagged at the strong, bitter taste of the dry herb she placed on his tongue, but swallowed as ordered. The moment he did, a scratching sensation began at the back of his throat, and he began to cough noisily. After a second or two, he felt quite a bit better, although the need to cough remained.

The world had returned so clearly that he found himself almost immediately lifting the blindfold and removing the gauze from his ears. Ranma leaned over to thump him on the back. "Look after him!" Ranma ordered and ran from the tent.

Moments later, she returned with the same ladle she'd used to splash the tears from her eyes and moved to Ryoga's side, forcing the water on him.

"Uh... excuse me?" a strident voice came from the front of the shop.

Ukyo, who had been staring at the scene in a somewhat removed, shellshocked way, straighted. Bounding to her feet, she ran to the window. This she could handle. "May I help you?"

Ryoga's coughing finally eased. "Ugh," he whispered, wiping the side of his mouth.

Nodoka patted him on the back. "Sorry, Ryoga-kun, but that was the only way to ease your suffering. That herb expels any potions. If you had kept the original formula within your system, your senses would have remained that heightened for fourty-eight hours."

Ryoga shuddered. "Then t-thank you..."

"It's my fault for not warning you," Nodoka sighed. "Although Ranma here offered you the correct counter-agent, it's supposed to be ingested, not inhaled. Ranko, you have a feel for..."

Ranma was staring at her mother, wide-eyed. "Y-you c-called me 'Ranma'."

"I'm so sorry!" Nodoka exclaimed, standing and straightening her kimono. "I hope you're not too insulted; I do feel a certain... affinity for you, Ranko," Nodoka admitted, placing a gentle hand atop Ranma's head. "So... please think of it as a sign that I feel close to you. All right?"

Ranma's small shy smile made its appearance. "Nn. I will." She stood, pulling Ryoga to her feet. "I'm really sorry for the trouble m... auntie."

Nodoka gave her the exact same smile in return. "It's no trouble. Or, in any case, not all that much. I'm happy you came. It seems you have an aptitude for my art. If you're interested, I'll train you."

"I'll... uh, think about it," Ranma replied. "Thanks for considering me."

"Only, don't use Ryoga-kun as your guinea pig, please, Ran... Ranko." Nodoka blinked. "I certainly do seem to want to call you 'Ranma' today!"

Ranma shuffled her feet in the dirt, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Certainly, let me ask." Ukyo retreated into the back and conversed quietly with Nodoka. After a moment, Nodoka nodded, bustled around and retrieved the perfect crystal.

"This should power the ray gun perfectly," she said with a sunny smile. "And here's something for that cold!"

Everyone but Nodoka sweatdropped.

After Genma had come by to pick up his wife, Ranma, Ryoga, Akane, and Ukyo rode the roller coaster twice each. Although Akane and Ukyo screamed and squeezed their eyes shut, Ranma and Ryoga contented themselves with an occasional gasp. After the Catfist training and the Breaking Point Technique training, nothing was all that frightening anymore.

When they finally tired of riding the 'coaster, they met up with Nabiki and Kasumi, and played enough games of skill and chance to win a handful of prizes, each. Nabiki, of course, had somehow managed to con one of the young men working a prize table into giving her a small, stuffed giraffe without actually having played any of the games; no one was quite sure how. Somewhere along the way, Akane and Ranma had forgotten exactly why they were so upset with one another.

"I need to get home," Kasumi whispered, yawning widely. "Come with me Akane. Come with me, Nabiki. It's too late to be awake."

"C'mon 'neechan, the night's still young!" Nabiki was surprised at how much she'd been enjoying the fair. More than one guy had given her a line – which never, _ever_ happened at Furinkan. They were too afraid. She was heady with the flirtation and more than a little punch drunk from being awake much longer than she was used to.

"Mou..." Kasumi whined. She had awoken even earlier than usual that morning in order to get some housework done and because of nightmares about Tofu-sensei; now she was feeling it. Kasumi didn't normally sleep past sunrise. She'd wake herself automatically in less than three hours.

"If you wanna go home, I'm sure we can find someone to walk you. Ryoga?" Ranma prompted.

Ryoga looked up suddenly, something like fear in his eyes. "Huh? Whassat?"

"Ranma asked you if you'd walk Kasumi home," Akane echoed. "And I have to agree with Ranma; you look kind of beat."

Ukyo nodded. "Yeah, sugar. Time to call it a night."

"Oh. Kasumi?"

Kasumi laced her arm in Ryoga's, and the two of them began to stumble off.

"No, Ryoga, that's not the way," Ranma heard a sleepy voice declare immediately thereafter. "Hope they actually get here," she commented wryly.

Daisuke broke out of the crowd and almost ran past Ranma before she grabbed his arm.

"Whoa," he breathed, taking in her outfit with a full-body lecherous glare. "Man, Ranma, you _do_ clean up good."

"Shut up idiot. Where is he?"

"Six," Dai replied absently, still eyeing cleavage.

"Six! Gosh, I gotta go!" Ranma exclaimed.

Ukyo rolled her eyes. "What the hell now?"

Ranma turned to her companions. "Uh... something important's just come up..."

"Nah, Ranma, jus' be there by dawn," Hiroshi advised. "He's havin' trouble with this one. 'Sides, that's what you told him. We all heard ya."

Ranma nodded slowly. "Y-you're right."

"Can I go home yet?"

The redhead nodded again, with a smile. "I release you."

"Nice lipstick, by the way."

"Aw, shuddup. If you could get away with looking this good, you would too."

Dai nodded. "Yeah, I would. See you in school on Monday, Ranma-chan."

"You're gonna get creamed one of these days, if you don't learn to shut your mouth," Ranma advised him, affecting her mother's coolest manner.

"Promise?"

"Ugh!" Ranma screeched. "You're a _real_ pervert!"

"As opposed to a fake one?"

"Yes!" Ranma took off one shoe and threatened to toss it at him.

Dai raised his hands in surrender. In Ranma's case, a shoe was a deadly weapon. "Never mind," he said, very, very quickly. "See ya, bye!"

Akane was sharing cotton candy with Ukyo and Nabiki. "What was that all about?" she inquired, tearing a piece off of the stick and handing it to the okonomiyaki chef. "Not about Kuno, I _hope_."

Her tone said that it had _better_ not be.

"Aw... sorta. Don't worry, though, Akane. That'll be the end of it." Her eyes hardened. "I swear."

"Nn," Akane agreed, too pleasantly full of sugar to argue. She and Ukyo were leaning slightly against one another. "So, Ranma, what did you buy from your mother?"

Ranma shrugged. "Just a little something for bringing order out of chaos. For some reason, she said I needed three."

Nabiki chuckled under her breath. "I still can't believe she owns that stand. That thing's been there every year for five or six years, I just didn't connect it with Ranma's mother."

"Well, 'all women need to have a skill'," Ranma said in a credible imitation of her mother's most demure tones. "What did you get, Akane?"

Akane winked. "Tha's a secret."

"Aw, c'mon, 'Kane," Ukyo prodded, none too gently. Mostly because she was prodding with her elbow.

"Ow!"

"Everyone knows ya got a charm fer luuuuvvvv..." the chef drawled pleasantly.

"Grr! Baka! Now he knows!"

"What do I know?" the redhead inquired, confused.

"Nothin'. It's a general thing, not a specific one," Akane defended. "Just supposed to draw love to me... or draw people in who already like me... or something like that."

"Akane, you idiot!" Ranma snapped. "Mom's charms seem to work! Are you sure that was a good idea?"

Nabiki blinked, coming slightly more awake. "Mou, you're right. She could have even more problems with the guys than before! If that's possible."

Akane buried her head in Ukyo's shoulder. "Nooooo..." she wailed.

"I'm sorry, sugar, I didn't think of it that way, either," Ukyo consoled.

"Well, what did you get?" Ranma demanded of the okonomiyaki chef, a slightly defeated feeling creeping over her as she wondered what trouble this would get Akane into.

"Huh? Oh, me an' Akane got the same thing," Ukyo explained.

"So you _like_ the Tsubasa and Konatsu types," Nabiki filled in.

"Noooo!" Ukyo wailed into Akane's hair.

For once in their lives, Nabiki and Ranma were on precisely the same level. They both began to laugh, very, very hard.

A half an hour later, the party began to break up. Most of the stands that sold candy and hot tea had given up and were going home. Many of the rides had stopped running hours ago. Akane and Ukyo had reluctantly thrown away their spell sachets; but Ranma had retrieved them and sliced them open with Amaguriken chops. It wouldn't do to have someone stumble on them, later. She wondered about the ethics of selling such charms. Of course, the koi rod thing had been a real romp, but it had also been more than a little disturbing for all involved. It had been... a real jolt, to know that she could love a guy at all, much less while in her guy form.

She chuckled, shaking her head.

"Whassat for?" Ukyo demanded.

"Dunno, just thinkin' 'bout all of the crap I've been through," Ranma admitted. "Mostly 'bout guys."

"Oooh, do tell," Akane managed, but she didn't sound angry. More like irritated, and irritated was stretching it.

"Thinking about all the spells I've been under. How my first kiss was from a guy," Ranma supplied. "Man, that Mikado was a real jerk."

The pair nodded.

"Hey, where'd Nabiki go?" Akane inquired.

Ranma grinned. "Akane, she left a half an hour ago. And I think it's time maybe that you should go home."

"Awwww... you never let me have any funnnn..." she drawled.

"Akane, it's four in the morning."

Ukyo checked her watch and giggled. "Four fifteen! C'mon, Tendo!" She practically hoisted the youngest Tendo up into the air, she was supporting her so strongly. "This girl can't hold her insomnia!"

Ranma laughed; Akane laughed; Ukyo laughed hardest. Everything seems really, _really_ funny when you're drunk and when you're sleep-deprived.

Ranma watched the pair slouch off into the distance.

Ukyo turned to face her fiancee before they'd gone very far. "You comin', Ranma?"

"Naw. One last thing ta do. So see ya tomorrow." She grinned. "Today!"

The two girls waved, and were off down the road.

* * *

Ranma watched as Kuno began to sprint across his own yard, attempting to reach his front door by the time the sun rose, according to the conditions she had set for him to be able to 'rescue' his pigtailed goddess from the clutches of the evil Ranma Saotome.

Of course, running was very difficult while wearing crinolines and lace and carrying a cat, a reversal jewel, a stopwatch, and an ego the size of Japan. "Pigtailed goddess!" he cried. "I shall save thee!"

Kuno sprang past all of the normal traps set around the Kuno mansion before he began to slow in order to regain his breath. Kuno just managed to reach his front door as the sun broke with the earth.

Soft clapping gained his attention.

"Nice, Kuno," Ranma lauded, but her voice was slightly flat, holding no real praise. "Cut it a little close this time, didn't you?"

Kuno blinked. "My love! Where is the sorceror? Will I not fight him?"

"Oh, you'll fight him," she assured him. "Here ya go." She tossed him a spare outfit of hers; she was not completely heartless, after all.

Kuno instinctively caught them. "Clothes!" he murmured worshipfully. "_Male clothes!_ Oh, pigtailed goddess, I salute you!"

"Well? Put 'em on!" Ranma closed her eyes. "I won't peek."

She listened as he moved, hearing the tear of cloth as he attempted to rip the feminine clothing away from his body. Ranma winced, wondering at what she'd put him through, wondering if she'd had any right. But that wasn't the question any longer; all that mattered was whether it had worked.

"Done? Good." She opened her eyes. "Now. Did you do everything I asked? You didn't skip any steps, did you?"

Kuno shook his head vehemently, examining the list in front of him. "Certainly not." He flipped open the scroll. "The dead fish, you gave me. No clue..." He frowned, deep in thought for a moment. "I started out with that, too, didn't I?"

Ranma grinned. "Point for you, Kuno."

"I performed the rest of the ritual in the right garb," he breathed, "though it pained me more than I can say. I performed the ritual, and I performed it with proper intensity and feeling. I managed to bring you something that I believe you will enjoy, once it is presented. I, er, gained the Cursed Jewel and set fire to the Nekohanten, thereby gaining the cat who is not a cat. And finally, I found the clock that runs backwards. I hope it is sufficient."

Ranma tiled her head to one side in inquiry. "You honestly did all of that for me?" She was really startled. This guy might make a match for Kasumi yet.

Kuno's smile twitched. "Yeesss," he drawled. "Of course. You are my love. My only."

"Except for Akane," Ranma reminded him flatly.

Kuno frowned, as if working this out. "Yes. Except for her. Now where is the sorceror, so I may defeat him?"

"Oh. He's here. Just be patient."

Kuno quieted immediately.

Ranma blinked in surprise, before briefly collecting herself. "Okay, hon, let's take a look at why I ran you through the wringer. One and two should be obvious, although I expected you to take awhile to figure out number two." She smiled forgivingly. "Number three."

"The garb? Humility."

"Not just humility, Kuno. I want you to know how I feel. Can you remember how you felt in those clothes?"

Kuno nodded.

"That's how I feel every day of my life," Ranma told him blandly. "I want you to take a moment to understand that."

"Because you sometimes dress in a mannish fashion?"

"I said that you needed to take a moment to understand that," the redhead repeated patiently, "not make immediate assumptions about why. Do you hear me?"

Kuno nodded again, and was quiet for a few moments as he spent some time absorbing this. After a moment, he closed his eyes.

Ranma realized he'd understood when a slow shudder ran through him. "Number four," Ranma began again without preamble. "Why do you think I made you say that you should be defeated during the ritual?"

Kuno paused. "So I could learn humility, pigtailed one."

"And to..."

"Make me wonder why I should be defeated," he replied automatically.

"I'm curious. What did you come up with?"

"To make my sister happy, for however brief a moment; to date with you; to date with Akane; to become a better martial artist in learning through defeat; because you want me to; because I should be; so that neither me nor the evil sorceror should suffer..."2

"All right. And number five?"

Kuno procured a small, stuffed black piggy.

It was the exact same one that she had received one rainy day for the daughter she was expecting. _What if she turns into a piggy? Or a little boy?_ she'd demanded of her husband, one afternoon, once her stomach was big, once a little bit of paranoia had set in, paranoia that her obgyn had assured her was perfectly normal. Akane had been practicing out in the dojo, her loud 'kiya' occasionally piercing the silence. Ryoga was a deep thinker, but not a quick one, and for awhile he pondered this. Finally, he turned to look at her quietly and say the most romantic thing she'd ever heard him say: _looking at you it's hard to believe she'd be anything but perfect._ It was almost embarrassing.

The next day, a small stuffed piggie had shown up in what would be Sachiko's crib. Ranma hadn't been certain who'd done it for a long time, but later she learned it was Ryoga himself, assuaging his own fears about the nature of their child in a very odd, but Ryoga-like fashion. Strangely enough, Sachiko had taken to the toy right away, and now wouldn't sleep without it. Of course, theirs was covered in dried baby spittle and a thousand other such decorations, but, other than that, the small stuffed pig was a dead ringer.

Ranma looked up to see that Kuno was staring into her face with puzzled sympathy. She finally stepped forward and accepted it like some kind of ancient tome, taking it with both hands outward and bringing it slowly to her chest. She looked up with wide eyes. "I gave you this quest to show you how little you knew me." She swallowed heavily. "I was wrong."

"You like it? Really?" Kuno inquired eagerly.

"Yeah." Ranma's eyes were filled with tears. "Actually I have... I mean... I know someone who has it... who gave it... to her daughter. I'm homesick for them, so this reminds me of... It's the exact same one. Wherever did you find it?" She shook her head. "Wait; no, it doesn't matter. _Thank you_, Kuno."

He smiled almost dazzlingly, looking handsome in the early morning light.

"Next?" Ranma inquired, placing the small stuffed piglet on the stoop behind her.

"The Reversal Jewel," Kuno said.

"Ah! You got it! Amazing... I never knew the old crone would give it up!" Ranma enthused. She stretched her hand out to receive it, examining it as it flashed and shimmered. "Ah, beautiful and deadly as ever."

Kuno nodded. "What does it do?"

"Wear it this way," Ranma said, "and you'll find out." She reached for the lapel of his shirt and pinned the brooch there. Then she stepped back and waited for the fireworks to begin.

She watched his features twist into incredulous rage and unconsciously went into a half-fighting stance. "Kuno," Ranma prompted. "Let me know what you've been thinking."

"This is _ridiculous!_" he snapped, practically growling at her. "Dragging me along like this – what are you, some kind of sadist! NONE of these rituals have any magic! All of them are just some long, drawn-out attempt to make a fool out of me. And having five sisters and brothers all named Ranma! What do you take me for?"

Ranma's eyes widened; she took another step back. "Well..." she prompted quietly.

"No, never mind. It's not like I care what you think, anyway. Stupid boy-girl hybrid, like some kind of plant my sister grows," he spat. "Don't you think it's obvious to me who you are! 'The sorcerer is here', you say. Just how stupid am I not to have caught on before now?"

Ranma sighed. He was right, of course. "You didn't want to catch on," Ranma supplied. "The other way was easier. Not to mention more fun for you."

"And don't psychoanalyze me," he bit off. "All of this was some sort of elaborate plan... to make me see the light. Did it ever occur to you that a half an hour and some hot and cold water might do the trick? You self-obsessed egomaniacal ailurophobic nightmare of a person!"

Tears gathered in Ranma's eyes. "Don't you... like me anymore?"

"And don't give me that pseudofeminine bull! I'm going inside, and I hope to NEVER, EVER see you again!"

Ranma nodded, withdrawing her tears like magic. Maybe now he finally got it. "I understand. Will you give me the brooch back, first? That way I can give it back to Cologne, and you won't be bothered." She offered up one hand, palm up.

"Fine! Do whatever you like. I won't care." So saying, Tatewaki Kuno ripped the brooch off of his borrowed silk shirt and threw it at the redhead.

Ranma snagged it from the air with ease, but Kuno himself was a bit harder to catch. The kendoist sank to his knees, burying his head in his hands.

"Forgive me, pigtailed maiden! Holiest of holies! I have been possessed, but the demon has departed..."

Ranma tsked. "Don't think so, Kuno, dear. That brooch..."

"It was the brooch! Another test; and I failed, did I not? What does it do?"

The redhead smiled gently. "In your case, it nudged you closer to reality."

"It did _what_! Surely you jest."

"No." She shook her head emphatically.

"I do not understand. I babbled, as though I had been struck by the devil. I made no sense!"

"You made a lot of sense. You were right almost on all counts. And as for the water, I have tried that before. Maybe not for a whole half hour, but a couple of times. You still wouldn't listen!"

Kuno blinked, shaking his head vigorously. "W-what was right?"

"About the curse; about my tricking you concerning all those brothers and sisters. Maybe about my controlling you too much. This isn't the right way, but it may be the only way that will work. Number eight."

"The cat who isn't a cat?" Kuno queried softly, jostling the cat carrier.

"Ah! There she is. Now, nothing up my sleeve," Ranma said to him. She poured hot water over the crate.

Immediately, a beautiful and quite naked Shampoo was standing in the cat's place, removing bits of cardboard from her hair and shoulders. "Ranmaaaa..." she growled.

"Sorry, Shampoo," Ranma said, handing the beautiful Amazon a set of clothing as well. Soon the Chinese girl was also attired in Ranma's usual black pant/Chinese shirt combo. Ranma wanted to give the purple-haired Amazon a hug; it had been so very long since she'd seen her. But she also knew that the normally demonstrative warrior maiden would interpret her gesture poorly.

"Sorry won't cut it, airen!" Shampoo was pouting, and her bare foot was tapping.

"Will a date cut it?" Ranma inquired hopefully. Even if she had to walk around with Shampoo hanging on her arm, this debacle wouldn't be a complete loss.

Shampoo paused. "Better be very good reason, airen."

"Oh. Sure it is. What I want you to do is to explain to Kuno, there, why you turn into a cat."

"Why turn into a...?" Shampoo trailed off. She turned. "Eeek! Thought that was dream, being carried in cardboard box!"

Kuno was obviously still attempting to reconcile the fact that the cat he'd brought was actually an incredibly hot, naked girl.

"Kuno, are you listening? You have to pay attention for this to work. Do your best not to form conclusions. Just listen and accept," Ranma commanded.

"I shall hear her," he breathed.

Shampoo nodded to herself. "Right. So Shampoo fail in quest. Grandmother take Shampoo to very fierce training grounds: Jusenkyo. Springs cursed; very bad. Grandmother much better than Shampoo; grandmother know Shampoo lose. After a little bit, Shampoo get knocked into spring by good strong kick of grandmother's." Shampoo sighed, shaking her head. "Shampoo lucky she get good, strong form! Cat form not so bad, really. Good for sneaking." She eyed her airen a little guiltily, before returning to her audience.

"There's something you left out, Shampoo. It's got to be really clear for my friend, here," Ranma said flatly.

Shampoo thought back to her story. "Yes! When Shampoo fall in spring at Jusenkyo, she come out with form of cat. Not easy to control. Hot water changes Shampoo back to girl. Cold water, back to cat again. Rain; bath; bucket of water; ocean... all things make Shampoo kitty." She frowned. "Very bad."

Kuno shook his head. "A water curse?"

Shampoo nodded eagerly. "Airen... Shampoo is very, _very_ sleepy. Can go home now?"

"Oh, yes, certainly. Thanks, Shampoo."

Ranma faced the kendoist. "You see that she has a curse?"

"What a terrible thing! I carried her around as a cat all night, hardly imagining that she could be anything else."

"Number nine?"

Kuno grinned; he was obviously proud of himself for this one. He offered the redhead a small runner's stopwatch. "It counts backwards," he supplied. "Only kitchen timers and stopwatches do."

"Excellent," Ranma praised quietly. "So, Kuno-san, learn anything tonight?"

"A great deal," he replied earnestly. "So when do I fight your brother?"

Ranma sighed. "I thought you'd fight him when you wore the reversal jewel, but I guess indifference is the opposite of lust – not hate."

"Pigtailed goddess..."

Ranma slapped him. Hard.

Slowly, Kuno shook his head free of the daze. "Ranma."

She smiled slowly at him.

"I think I understand what you've been trying to do."

"You do?" Her gaze was encouraging, but it was also hesitant.

"You were trying to... pile atop my delusion until it... until it collapsed under the weight."

"Yes."

"You realize that you risked making me even less sane than before."

"Yeah."

"That I could have simply been driven crazy by you."

"I hold you in higher esteem, oddly enough." She was still grinning at him, a grin that held more than simply having a laugh at his expense.

"You do? You mean, this really was a test? To deem me date-worthy?"

"Not exactly," Ranma corrected. "I think you'll be dating somebody I know. It's important to me that you be worthy of her. She's a really special woman, Kuno."

"How do you know all of this?" he inquired, looking suspicious for perhaps the very first time.

"That's my little secret," Ranma replied. "If I told you the truth, it might just fry your new logic circuits." She yawned widely. "Kuno, I've gotta go home, I'm dying, here."

"You? You didn't just spend the entire night chasing a dream!"

Ranma smiled at him. "Eh? Sure I did. It's exhausting, isn't it?" She smiled dazzlingly, watching as the sun broke away from the curve of the earth completely, casting a new light over the world.

* * *

"Lookit that!" Ukyo whispered.

"Hunh?"

"Akane, that way! Look east..."

Akane turned drunkenly, then froze. "Ahhh," she breathed. "It's so beautiful!"

The sun was creeping slowly upwards, dazzling the mist-laden air; the fog made the sun's light visible as rays. The pale gold and light orange lit the entire eastern sky, while the west was still dark and dim.

"I haven't seen one so nice in a long time," Akane added softly.

Ukyo nodded. "So, Akane?"

"Nn?"

"You bought more than one of those love thingies, didn't you?"

Akane flushed. "They're for friends."

"Me, too," Ukyo admitted with a small grin. "But... well, those are the ones where you gotta breathe 'em in, right?"

In a slightly sing-song voice, Akane recited, "'Breathe it in, then breathe it out; and your true love will come about.'"

"Good memory. That's right," Ukyo replied, nodding to herself. "Did you breathe it in?"

"Couldn't help it. Nodoka-san stirred the herbs. I breathed it in and sneezed. You?"

Ukyo nodded quietly. "Didja notice how Ryoga and Ranma didn't pay a lick of attention to either one of us?"

Akane frowned. "Baaaakas."

"And how you an' me seem a little... closer than before?"

Akane didn't seem to make the connection. "Stupid boys," she murmured, her head slipping onto Ukyo's shoulder. "Stupid boys don't know what they got."

Ukyo smiled. "No."

"Stupid Ranma might stupid notice one of us when he turns back into a stupid boy."

"Yeah," Ukyo replied a little doubtfully. Suddenly, she shook her head rapidly. "Yeah! You're right. Ranchan'll see me an' be _dazzled_. He won't know what hit 'im."

"Right."

Ukyo blinked, wondering why Akane was agreeing with her. Probably, the youngest Tendo was too sleepy to really listen carefully to what the chef was saying, and was just responding to her enthusiastic tone.

"C'mon, Ukyo, 'm _tired_," Akane whispered. "Sun rises at five thirty. 'S five-thirty in the morning, Ukyo. C'mon."

Ukyo nodded. "See you later, 'Kane."

Akane waved tiredly. "Wait, wait. 'S silly ta have you walk all th' way back there. C'mon, we got room."

"A...Akane..."

"_C'mon_," Akane stressed, tugging Ukyo's arm. "It's time ta _sleep_."

Ukyo had to agree that yes, it _was_ time to sleep, and that was as far as she got before she found herself with a pair of pyjamas and in Akane's room.

The confused okonomiyaki chef made her way to the furo to change by sheer force of will. When she returned, Akane was passed out on the bed, still in her kimono and geta.

"Kawaiikunee," Ukyo reminded herself, removing the girl's shoes, and untying her kimono. Akane helped, but barely; the girl was three-quarters of the way asleep. Finally, once Ukyo had wrestled her into a pyjama top, she pulled the covers out from under Akane's dead weight. Climbing next to the other girl, Ukyo covered them both.

Akane snuggled up against her back and promptly passed out.

Ukyo froze at the feel of Akane pressed up against her from behind. _No,_ she thought as sleep rose to claim her. _You're just being a superstitious idiot, Ukyo. I thought you had better sense than this..._

Chuckling softly to herself, Ukyo fell asleep much like one falls off of a building: unexpectedly and very, very quickly. Unconsciously, she snuggled slightly closer to Akane, a small smile playing across her features.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Ever since I wrote the Smile, I've wanted to see Ukyo and Akane end up together. :)

Like the 'Girls' Night In' chapter, this chapter was initially far, far longer. I actually followed Kuno through his entire quest, which was by turns entertaining and disturbing to write. Then I realized that was a sidestory in its own right, and has very little to do with Ryoga and Ranma... so it may end up as a stand-alone story. I hope I included enough detail for y'all to get the basic idea of what he'd been doing all night.

In preliminary reviews, I got someone surprised that Akane and Ukyo ended up together. (Are you reading the future chapters?)

1 This, of course, is a reference to Sailor Moon. However, either through a glitch in translation or through intent, the creator of Sailor Moon made her characters' crystals objects of real power in the real world. In other words, there IS such thing as a perfect crystal. No kidding! Find yourself a good chem. book and look it up. Certainly Nodoka would be right in saying not to jostle one around, if she happened to have one – which, by the way, bypasses unlikely and lapses into impossible.

2 There is a ritual in Japanese culture, traditionally done on a specific holiday. You pray - in this case, Kuno prayed for his own defeat, as ordered - and then you make a lap around the temple. Then you repeat. This is done some ridiculous number of times, 100, I think. Anyone remember the name of the holiday or the name of the ritual? I couldn't recall it.


	15. Coming to an Understanding

* * *

FIFTEEN: 2004

Tear-tracks were drying on Ranma's cheeks as she sat in the waiting room of Tofu-sensei's practice. Moments earlier, Ryoga had used his cell phone to call in sick to work. They'd fire him soon if this kept up, she thought idly, playing with a red curl hanging in her field of vision. For sure.

Ryoga was holding Sachiko, and Ranma knew why. He didn't trust her to do it anymore. He also refused to look at her. He refused to meet her eyes.

Ranma's wooden geta thumped against the tiled floor unexpectedly as she twitched from sheer nervousness, creating a hollow 'clunk' which, in the otherwise empty waiting room, sounded loud enough to wake the dead. The redhead cringed and hunched her shoulders.

"Ready." A woman's voice sounded from inside the office proper. Ranma rose and shuffled her way into the main examining room, wincing at each noise she made. Peering into the examination room caused her to start in surprise.

Tofu-sensei was not there. In his place was a young woman in her late twenties, with long brown hair and a serious manner. She wore a white lab coat that fell at mid-hip, a pair of thin reading glasses, and a gentle smile.

"Kasumi," Ranma breathed, the air whooshing out of her lungs in her surprise. "A-are you the doc?"

Kasumi's gentle smile widened. "I inherited the practice from my husband, you could say."

"Inherited! Kasumi..."

"It's a long story, Ranma. If you would like to hear it, I don't mind."

Ranma examined her feet. "Y-yeah..." she whispered. Anything to delay the inevitable.

"You must recall how Tofu-sensei disappeared back when you were sixteen..."

Ranma's brows lowered. "Yeah. I always wondered about that."

"Say 'ah'," Kasumi continued softly – in fact, in such a similar tone of voice that it took Ranma a moment to realize that this wasn't part of her story.

"Oh! Er... aaahhhhhh..."

"In any case," Kasumi went on as she peered inside Ranma's mouth, moving her tongue out of the way with a depressor, "it wasn't for nothing. Back when I was nineteen, I decided that I was going to force him to admit his love for me. I got him drunk enough not to waltz off with Betty when we conversed. Then I asked him how he felt."

Ranma's eyes widened. "R-really?"

Kasumi threw the tongue depressor into the trash and began to listen to Ranma's heartbeat. "Yes. It worked. He told me he loved me, and we eloped that very same night."

"WHAT!"

Kasumi reeled back from Ranma's form, pulling the stethescope from her ears with a pained wince.

"Sorry," the redhead whispered.

"Well, now you see why I didn't breathe a word of it," Kasumi intoned, pressing her index finger to her lips. "I was so terribly embarrassed that I'd forced his hand that way, and, well... it didn't exactly work out, in any case."

"Not work out?" Ranma queried, as Kasumi moved the stethescope to her back.

"No; we made love that night, and it was a beautiful thing..."

Ranma coughed suddenly.

"...but when he woke in the morning, our late-night liason hadn't cured him. Since I neither wanted an idiot nor a drunkard for a husband, I broke it off."

"Y-you d-did?"

Kasumi nodded. "Let's go to the X-ray room, shall we?"

Ranma let Kasumi lead her two doors down. "Whoa. Is this new?"

The older woman nodded with a smile. "Had to borrow from the bank, but for a chiropractor, an X-ray machine is a useful thing to have."

The redhead smiled her understanding and sat on the bench under the ray.

"Next thing I knew, he'd run off," Kasumi added with a sigh. "Before we were legally divorced, he made his escape." She shrugged. "That made the practice fall into my hands, so to speak." She clucked privately to herself. "Though for years I was too embarrassed... no, too _mortified_ – to claim it. Please put this around your chest? Thank you."

Ranma lay back on the table as Kasumi moved over to the operating console, taking several X-Rays of her body at different angles.

When the eldest Tendo daughter returned to help her up, she again took up her narrative. "When I met my new husband, he convinced me to go for my doctorate. After all, it's what I've always wanted. Though, again, until I met him I wasn't certain what it was that I wanted."

Ranma nodded. "So you're Doctor Tendo now?"

Kasumi giggled. "Sort of. I have a chiropractic license. Though people in the neighborhood use me as a family doctor, that's not exactly what I am. I do good business." She smiled. "Although certainly not this late at night - I'm not usually even open. But I make exceptions for family."

"A-am I family?" Ranma inquired in a small voice.

"Of course! Even though it never worked out between you and Akane, I still consider you a sibling, Ranma – maybe even a little like a daughter." She smiled gently. "Failed relationships still give you something, the way the hard ground in the winter gives birth to spring. My relationship with Tofu has, however indirectly, made me into a doctor. I want you to remember that, Ranma. Okay?"

Ranma blinked. "O-okay, Kasumi. But that's not what I meant. Who am I?"

"You're Ranma, dear. And don't you forget that, either." She placed a warm hand atop Ranma's head and ruffled her hair. "Now let's see that disappearing scar of yours."

Moments later, the pair emerged from the examination rooms into the waiting room, where Ryoga was sitting, looking as lost as Ranma had ever seen him. When he realized they were there, he sprung to his feet, jostling Sachiko, who gave a small cry of protest. "Kasumi-sensei?"

Kasumi flushed. "Well... this is a bit hard to explain. And a bit harder to believe. Would you like to step into my office?"

Ranma slipped into her original examination room to change back to her normal clothes – _normal!_ she thought contemptuously, staring at the shoes she'd arrived in. _When did I put these on?_ Ranma's puzzled expression smoothed, opened. _Kasumi told me that story to calm me down. I must've been in a bad way when I got here._

Slipping on her geta ruefully, she clunked down the hallway and into Kasumi's office. The office no longer looked like Tofu-sensei's had – amicably cluttered with papers and esoteric texts. Kasumi-sensei's office was painted sun yellow, and had a miniature plug-in fountain gurgling in one corner. Her desk was neat and tidy; two comfortable, leather-covered chairs faced her.

Ryoga was seated in one, holding Sachiko in his lap.

Gulping, Ranma clunked loudly until she plopped into the chair beside his. "Well, Kasumi... what's the verdict?"

Kasumi smiled helplessly. "It really is very odd, Ranma. It seems that you're exactly who you've said you were all along."

"Well? What about the scar?" Ryoga wondered dully.

Ranma peered at him in concern. He hadn't had Kasumi's stories and smile to calm him; apparently he was still in shock.

"You misunderstand me, Ryoga-kun." Kasumi's sympathetic expression did not shift. "Ranma is Ranma. But she is... she is sixteen."

"Wait. What?" The redhead frowned in polite incredulity, shaking her head, _certain_ she had misheard the other woman.

Kasumi flinched almost imperceptibly. "It's... I'm afraid it's true. I have your medical history on file." She turned to the computer at her desk and tapped a couple of keys. "Not that it makes any difference; I have very detailed medical histories up here." She tapped her forehead, her smile turning apologetic. "Especially where family members are concerned."

Consulting the file for accuracy, she continued: "Ranma's last measured height was five-foot one and a quarter. However, her height at this point is five foot, even. Looking at the data I have here, it seems that she was approximately that height at sixteen years of age."

Ranma slumped back into her chair in utter shock.

"Moreover, she had a tooth drilled back when she was nineteen, and her wisdom teeth pulled when she was twenty-one, since they were paining her. Looking into Ranma's mouth today, I noticed that she has one breaking the surface on the right side of her mouth. And the filling is missing."

Ryoga was staring, not at Kasumi, but at Ranma, pale and uncomprehending.

"I'm certain that the X-rays, when they come back, will show that Ranma has one more growth spurt left in her. Ranma is... Ranma is sixteen," she repeated helplessly.

Ryoga was shaking his head. "That can't be."

Kasumi was tilting her head in sympathy. "I'm sorry, Ryoga-kun. Truly sorry."

"But... but what does it mean?"

Ranma was still drowning in a sea of shock. "It means we're not married. It means that's not my little girl!"

"Oh, god," Ryoga breathed.

"It means... it means..." Ranma felt the world spin. _I kissed him! I slept in his bed! We were five minutes from making love! _"Kami-sama..."

"There, now," Kasumi soothed. "Ryoga, Ranma is still your wife – or, if you like, your fiancee. And Ranma – the same is true for you. Ryoga is your future husband." She frowned. "And even if you were not, shall we say, 'promised' to one another... you behaved as you did because you believed you _were.._."

Ranma had doubled over and was hugging her knees. _No... not true... I... I thought I loved him because I loved him..._ Her eyes stole to him, only to find that he was staring at her in return.

She imagined that his haunted gaze looked a lot like hers.

Sachiko, who had only been background noise up until this point, grabbed her attention with a small bounce. A bewildered expression adorned her own small features. Apparently, the little girl didn't know what to make of all this silence and staring.

"She's not mine," Ranma whispered guiltily, her eyes flashing away and to her ridiculously traditional shoes. "She's not mine."

Kasumi rose to cross around the desk that separated her from the smaller girl. She dropped to her knees in front of the redhead and placed a calming hand on her thigh. "Of course she is, Ranma. That's your daughter."

"But I never gave birth to her... I never carried her in here..." Ranma had both hands pressed to her stomach. "How can she be mine?"

Kasumi offered up her gentle smile. "Nonetheless, she's your daughter. Isn't that Ranma's daughter, Ryoga?"

Ryoga's eyes were full of tears. "Y-yes. T-that's Ranma's daughter."

Ranma felt her own eyes tearing as well. "Man. I just don't understand this – not at all! I'm sixteen, but I'm here... how did that happen? Did I transform back into my old body... my old memories?"

Kasumi straightened, seeming to take on the mantle of Ranma's physician rather than her old den-mother. "There are a couple of possibilities, Ranma. One I'm concerned with is your curse."

"Ranma's curse?" Ryoga straightened. "How can this have anything to do with Ranma's curse?"

Kasumi began again, gentler than before, if that was possible. "Ranma... you fell into the Spring of Drowned Girl... did you not?"

"Y-yes..."

"It may be that the curse specifies GIRL... rather than woman."

"Well, that is what I turn into," Ranma said rapidly. Then, her mind cast back and she heard Ukyo's voice: _"First of all, Ranchan, the term is 'man'. At least, there aren't so many twenty-two year old males who still consider themselves boys... Second of all, you're neither a boy nor a man. You're a woman. As evinced by the baby you're holding on your lap."_

"As evinced by the baby..." Ranma's eyes stole to Sachiko. "You think that my having a baby triggered this?"

Kasumi nodded. "Perhaps, according to the terms of the curse, it qualified your cursed form as a woman rather than a girl. And switched you back."

Ranma felt chill. "Shampoo once told me that she would be considered a child in her tribe until she'd had her first kid. I didn't think much of it at the time, but maybe that's the definition of a woman around there."

"If the curse _did_ do this," Kasumi continued, "it's far more powerful than we ever imagined."

"So I can't have another kid," Ranma countered. "That isn't the end of the world. I love Sachiko – I don't mind not having a boy, if that's what you think."

"I'm worried that Sachiko wasn't the catalyst, however," Kasumi said with a sorrowful shake of her head. "What if it was some other, invisible criterion for womanhood that you met? There's no way of knowing. There's no way to know that the exact same thing won't happen again six years from _now_."

Ranma blanched. "So... so curing my curse would stop it?"

"Most likely. But... Ranma..."

Ranma knew what Kasumi would say. She knew what Ryoga was thinking. Despite knowing intellectually that he was married to another guy, Ryoga probably didn't see it quite that way.

Ranma knew that her cursed form had been the only thing between she and a deep abyss since she'd arrived. What would happen if that were ripped away?

"There are other possibilities, I'm certain," Kasumi was saying. "It may not be the curse at all, rather..."

Her voice faded away to a buzz in the back of Ranma's mind as she attempted to absorb this, attempted to reconcile these new factors into what had become her life. _Not my husband, _not_ my husband! Not my child!_ And although she'd been subconsciously hoping – no, _praying_ was a more appropriate term – for those words to be the truth only a short while ago, they now sat at the bottom of her stomach like lead weights.

_I knew it. I knew it was a trap, a trick all along. But I let him. We kissed. It was okay. We were married. Now... I'm just Ranma, I'm the Ranma he always hated. And Sachiko... Sachiko doesn't even exist to me... _The very warm, very real baby in Ryoga's arms somehow did little to convince her.

The walk home was even more subdued than before; neither adult said a word, and Sachiko seemed to respect that silence, babbling only lightly and in a decidedly grave tone of voice, sensing the tension. If Ranma had been awake enough to realize it, there was a subtle difference in Ryoga's silence. The lost desperation was no longer in those his eyes: instead, they were filled with thought and purpose.

When they reached the house, Ranma opened the door ahead of Ryoga, and closed it behind he and Sachiko. She still felt dizzy and a little numb, as though the very earth she stood on had been shifted, the world she lived in altered irrevocably. It had, she supposed.

"So," Ryoga said almost too casually, stepping inside the doorjamb, "can you think of any way to cure that curse of yours?"

Ranma's expression didn't alter, her brain still in a muzzy cloud. "Huh?"

"If that's the only way..." Ryoga closed his eyes and he gulped before opening them again. "If that's the only way I can have you... or nothing at all... I'll..." Then he halted, choking slightly on the last word, unable to continue.

Ryoga wandered off to the couch and slumped there, bouncing Sachiko absently. "I'm going to call Nabiki again. Maybe Akane. It isn't good for the baby to be around us right now." Even Ranma noted how she'd snapped to attention once he fell apart. _Is that what it means to be like this, to be married? One of us has to be sane at all times, but never both at once?_

"Y-you're right. She knows something's wrong, doesn't she?" Ryoga stared at his daughter, wiping his tears away carefully. "Aw, honey, it's okay. Everything's going to be just fine, you'll see."

Ranma offered the smaller redhead a tentative smile.

Sachiko smiled back, but the baby-grin was hesitant and uncertain. _I haven't been fooled,_ her look seemed to say, _but if you're willing to be calm about it, then so am I._

Ranma laughed at her, a genuine laugh. "Gosh, she's the darndest thing."

Ryoga shared the smile with her, and then all of a sudden they were pressed to one another; his arms stole around her and the baby both, and squeezed.

Ranma shut her eyes tightly, like she could banish the entire world if she consciously forced it away, and leaned into his shoulder, breathed in that now-familiar scent. She felt the baby squirm in her arms, obviously wondering what was going on. "You'd really do that?" she finally whispered, when he showed no signs of letting her go. "You'd really cure me? You wouldn't mind?"

"'Course I'd mind. But I'd mind it worse if, every six years you looked at me like you did... that day. Like I was your worst nightmare come true. I'd mind it more if I grew old and you stayed young... wouldn't that happen, if you kept reverting? Younger than our daughter, one day."

Ranma's mind reeled away from that. "Damn it... that could happen."

"There are families that have... have two daddies. Right?"

"You and she both," Ranma said, "are the damnest thing."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Nabiki arrived. "I canceled an important meeting for this," she said coldly. "It had better be good."

"More like bad," Ranma admitted, explaining her story.

"Oh, Ranma." Nabiki paled, reaching out to squeeze the redhead's shoulder. "So what's the deal? What can I do?"

Ranma flushed slightly. "Uh... well, it's the curse. Kasumi-sensei seems to think that it's responsible... because it specified Spring of Drowned GIRL, not woman. I met the qualifications for womanhood and got kicked back to girlhood!"

"We need to remove the curse," Ryoga said stubbornly. "At least, that's what we want to do."

For a moment, Nabiki was struck speechless – something Ranma had never actually seen before. "Really?" she whispered.

A moment later, she caught herself; her features smoothed to a gentle, blank mask. "Hmm. So you're looking for leads on a cure again, eh, Ranma?" She adjusted her position on the couch, re-crossing her stockinged legs.

Ranma nodded stolidly, subtlely comforted by Ryoga's stout strength by her. He hadn't let go of her hand, either; a fact she noted with gratitude.

"The search is back on," Nabiki said softly, almost to herself.

"What about the Amazons? If anyone knows a cure, it's the old ghoul," Ranma offered.

Both Nabiki and Ryoga's expressions darkened.

"I... I mean, after she left, she couldn't possibly still be thinking of adding me to the tribe..."

"It's not that," Nabiki said, her tone tight and full of frustration. "It's that, a long time ago, she told us that there _was_ no cure... as she knew it."

Ranma's eyes widened. "A trick. It's... it's gotta be."

"I beg to differ," Nabiki replied. "At least, she said so as she was leaving – and I don't think it was as a form of revenge. I think she meant to give you some measure of peace after searching so long." The older girl hung her head, shaking it in negation. "No, I think she was telling us the truth."

Ranma nodded again, resolutely, in tandem with her husband. "We were hoping there might be something that cures _any_ curse... or something that steals magical power, something that could sap the energy the curse feeds on."

Nabiki nodded in return, thoughtfully. "Those are good starts. Although..." She paused, many expressions crossing her face one after the other.

Ranma waited respectfully. Nabiki was the smartest person she knew; if anyone could see her way through this tangle, it was the businesswoman before her.

"Well, it's really odd, don't you see?" she said almost explosively. "As much as I respect my sister's medical expertise, I'll give myself the credit of being slightly beyond her in terms of logic. Why in heaven's name have you met the requirement for womanhood all of a sudden?"

Ranma's lips quirked. "According to Kasumi, because I had Sachiko. That's the requirement for womanhood in the book of Amazon law: having a child. Shampoo told me herself."

Nabiki shook her head. "No. Then you would have switched the moment you conceived – or, more likely, the moment you gave birth. Why eight months later?"

Ryoga spoke up. "Kasumi said she wasn't certain what requirement Ranma had met – it could be something far less visible."

Nabiki nodded. "I suppose. But still... something about the whole business bugs me."

"Me too," Ranma said dryly, bouncing Sachiko on her knee. "Not that I'm complaining... but one moment I'm sparring with the guy, the next we're married with a kid..."

"You know that's not what I mean, Ranma," Nabiki chided. "I'm telling you that my elder sister's explanation of what's happened to you doesn't fit."

Ryoga sighed deeply, his breath leaving him in frustration. "You're going leaps and bounds beyond me. The thing that drives me insane is that I can't figure out what happened to all of my wife's memories... her older body... the way she moved and talked and _was_. It's so hard for me to grasp that all of that has just... just... disappeared."

Ranma nodded morosely, then froze. "Aw, maaannnn," she moaned, putting her head in her hands.

"What is it, Ranma?"

"What if it don't have _anything _to do with the curse...? I mean, the simplest answer is that she didn't disappear!"

"What, Ranma?" Ryoga murmured.

"We just switched places!"

For a long moment, there was a silent tableau as Nabiki and Ryoga processed this.

Then they were both speaking at once.

"What do you mean? Are you saying when you leapt forward, she went _back!_" Ryoga exclaimed.

"She's stuck back at sixteen... or everyone thinking she is, maybe..." That from Ranma.

"She's stuck in the nineties," Nabiki pondered laconically. "Ah, a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone... Though it makes far more sense. Brava, Ranma."

Ranma gulped. "But then how did it happen?"

"Who knows?" Nabiki sighed theatrically. "A rip in the space-time continuum, some new attack of Ryoga's..."

Ryoga shook his head. "No. That's impossible. I can only move _myself_ around..."

Nabiki's eyes widened. "Wait. Think about it, Ryoga." Nabiki was animated, now, her short hair swinging in her agitation. "Your curse?"

Ryoga's eyes widened briefly. "But... no, wait. I can control my curse, now. There's no way I would have sent my wife _anyplace_."

"No... but back then, back when we were _all _sixteen, you _couldn't_ control it?" Ranma hazarded, following Nabiki's logic with growing excitement. "What if sixteen-year-old you sent me here? And I somehow... I dunno..."

"Your presence bumped the current Ranma back. An exchange of some kind," Nabiki filled in. She turned to Ryoga, a sudden, speculative light in her eyes. "Well?"

Ryoga stood, finally loosing his grip on the redhead. When he spoke, each word dropped off of him like a stone, so heavy and full of despair that their forming was an ordeal in and of itself. "I did it... I brought her here; I sent my wife away." He swallowed, turning to gaze at Ranma, his eyes full of guilt and misery. "I remember, now. I did this to you. Not on purpose, but now I see that... I see that it must've been me. I'm sorry, Ranma," Ryoga said, and he did look sorry – sorry and desolate. "Let me explain... It's an offshoot of my directional problems. Or, I guess you could say that it's what happens when I exert control over them."

Nabiki sighed. "Back in the late nineties, you and Cologne worked with Ryoga to overcome his directional curse. Over time, you found that every time he got seriously lost, there was a high flash of aura, an expenditure of chi."

"The first time I became _aware_ of that was during a battle with you," Ryoga continued softly. "I was angry... really, really angry... but then I saw you falling back and I saw how you were headed, towards the rocks in the koi pond." His eyes were wide as they flickered unconsciously in the direction of the pond, then back down to the surface of the table. He swallowed. "There was a sudden panic in me. I really thought you would die. Maybe part of the control I gained was in there, somewhere. I think I got it for the first time, what 'dead' really means, and... and I didn't want that. I wanted you to live so much that I felt a physical pain in my chest. I suddenly just couldn't let it happen...

"Just as suddenly, I had the impression I could catch you. Don't know where it came from. You were obviously so far away. There was no way I could manage to save you, now that I think about it. But I was certain at the time. I reached out to pull. I felt sure my hand caught on something. I thought I'd caught your hands in mine. I thought for sure you'd laugh at me and ask what I was doing trying to save you."

His eyes lifted and he examined the redhead, an apology in his eyes. "The experience was really very powerful, or I wouldn't have recalled it at all. _Something_ pulled out and away... but not Ranma. She fell, and smacked her head on the rocks. I ran out into the water up to my knees and pulled her out." He shook his head. "I remember Akane screaming, but that was really it. I just couldn't understand it. I'd _felt_ your hands in mine... I was so sure." He flexed his right hand, recalling the feeling.

Ranma swallowed. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it was maybe _you_ I pulled. _Forward,_ like I meant to, but not the right way."

"There's no evidence of that," Ranma said weakly.

Nabiki bit her lower lip. "I think that there is. If _you _were transported here, and _she_ was bumped back then in response, around when would she appear?"

Ranma cast her mind back. "Uh, I guess, all things being equal, she arrived right after Ryoga punched her into the koi pond." She frowned. "And... and then she woke up... and s-saw Ryoga..."

"And assumed that he was her husband," Ryoga cut in with sudden understanding.

"And kissed him!" Nabiki, Ranma and Ryoga finished.

Nabiki shook her head in amazement. "That explains a lot of Ranma's odd behaviour at that point in time. When the older Ranma saw me in the doorway, she must have known where she was. I mean, I look different. And when she left the room, she must've noticed how different Akane looked–"

"The same things I noticed, in reverse... the kitchen, my old room..." Ranma ticked off. "She... she went into shock." A practically audible click sounded in her mind. "Remember? Something made me upset, _really_ upset! I... did stupid crap, like... punch a hole in the deck, and disappear for days... Do you remember that, Ryoga?"

"Is that possible?" Ryoga wasn't looking at Nabiki; his eyes were trained onto Ranma, as if her next words would settle the matter completely in his mind.

"If... if she woke up and found out that she didn't have a husband anymore... just an enemy... if... Kami-sama, if Sachiko was gone... I don't know _what_ she'd do." The redhead's eyes widened in sudden surmise. "Unlike me, everything she'd see would be _familiar_... recognizable. She could even be thinking that her life with Ryoga and Sachiko wasn't real... was just some kind of whacked-out dream about being a wife and a mother after getting knocked on the head!"

Nabiki met Ranma's panicked eyes with her own. "And because of what happened the first time she knocked her head.1 Or, rather, Akane knocked it for her."

Ranma laughed, but it emerged sounding half-panicked.

"Damn it. So that's why you went so quiet." Nabiki's eyes met Ryoga's. "We _have_ to get her out of there."

Ranma blinked. "But what'll happen to me?"

"All things being equal, as you said," Nabiki replied, "you should go right back where you came from."

Ranma paled, staring down at Sachiko; she fell silent for a long moment, her lips parting as though she wanted to speak, but wasn't certain what to say. She licked dry lips and finally sound emerged. "Do you know what you're asking me?" she stammered quietly. "Christ, Nabiki... what will I say? What will I do?"

Ryoga and Nabiki met her pleading eyes with pity, but no answers. Ranma's heart felt like it was caving in within her chest. Each breath was painful. "Damn it... but I can't leave her there, either, can I?"

"For more reasons than one," Nabiki replied softly. "Ever heard of a causality loop? She'll be stuck repeating those same six years over and over again until she dies, unless you return."

Ryoga blanched, staring down at his hand clasped in Ranma's.

Ranma closed her eyes. "Maybe there is – at least some. There was a light, right before I passed out! His chi... it _did_ reach out to me. But I felt like I was falling away, very, _very_ far away." She swallowed heavily. "Kami-sama... you took me here by accident... but maybe, now, you can put me back, on purpose?"

Ryoga closed his eyes tightly. "Maybe. But I might just as easily hurt you, or send you someplace inhospitible, or ten thousand years into the past."

"Who knows?" Ranma replied cheerfully. "Maybe I land in the spring of drowned girl... and drown!"

"Don't joke, Ranma," Nabiki commanded tautly. "Ryoga, it's obviously Ranma's only hope. You'd better do your best to figure out what you did that day – and how to reverse it."

* * *

Author's Notes:

Yaaayy! They finally got it! Were you placing bets on how long it would take?

I think it's easy for us to see, since we get the full picture – that is, we see both timelines and we get enough evidence to convince us about just how these things happened. Unfortunately, each Ranma is only getting about half of said evidence, so it's a bit harder for either of them to arrive at the right conclusion.

I guess I could have had them cure Ranma's curse and never find out their error – they'd live thinking they'd fixed it for all time! – but that's a bit more diabolical than I'm willing to be.

I anticipate getting some mail about how it's lame that Ryoga couldn't tell the difference between a sixteen-year-old Ranma and a twenty-two-year-old Ranma. In answer to that, I'd love to show ya'll a picture of myself at sixteen and twenty-two. There is _no_ difference. (I am now twenty-four, and yet people routinely ask me what colleges I'm considering.) It's actually pretty common in girls to be mostly done growing and developing by sixteen years old. And Ranma doesn't seem to be the type interested in stuff like hairstyles, so she'd probably keep the same one so long as it was working for her. If there are any other objections, I beg for a suspension of disbelief.

On a final note, it's rather important that you understand Nabiki's particular and mostly correct assumptions about what has happened to Ranma, and why Ranma suddenly seemed to be depressed around 1998. If you aren't certain about what she's getting at, please let me know; or read the second half of this chapter one more time. I beg forgiveness for not being clearer; a better author would not have to add this addendum. I am exhausted with this storyline, however, especially since it was supposed to be a 'relaxing' Ranma 1/2 fic, so that I could edge a bit away from TSAG and JSF.

See you next time! (Don't worry, it's not over yet.)

1 Here Nabiki is referring to the "Am I... Pretty?" episode of much fanfiction fame. Ranma bumps her head on a rock in the koi pond and no longer recalls being a boy. Being Ranma, this girl has a very stereotypical impression of what it means to be feminine, and flounces about for the remainder of the episode.


	16. End of an Era

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: 1998 / 2004**

Akane yawned.

"Urg, what _time_ is it?" Ukyo moaned, rubbing her eyes.

Akane blinked sleepily at her digital clock, then gasped, suddenly wide awake. "Ohmigosh! It's one in the afternoon..." She sat bolt upright. "We've missed school!"

"Hey, sugar, be calm, be _calm._" Ukyo reached out for Akane's shoulders and smoothed them several times in quick succession. The dark-haired girl's shoulders slowly slumped in relaxation with each motion.

"Wow, that feels good," Akane admitted, closing her eyes briefly. "I'm so sore from last night."1

Ukyo flushed. "Er... yeah..."

Akane bit her lower lip. "Why didn't Kasumi come and wake us up?"

"Does she usually?"

"_Every _morning!" Akane returned, standing and going to her closet. "I mean, the woman's like clockwork, she–" Akane paused as her absently reaching hand met empty air. "Where's my school uniform?"

Ukyo frowned. "You don't suppose Kasumi and Ryoga really _did_ get lost, do you?"

Akane blinked, then darted out of her bedroom door.

"Akane–!" Ukyo exclaimed, then shook her head in consternation, following after the agitated Tendo girl. Of course, she ran into Akane from behind almost immediately, as Akane slammed to a stop on the threshold of the kitchen.

Ukyo soon recognized the problem. It was Tatewaki Kuno, who happened to _be_ in the kitchen.

Kuno was seated at the table, leaning towards Ranma-onna with a scowl across his features. When he realized that Akane was in the room, he straightened, eyeing her curiously. Ukyo stepped out from behind the youngest Tendo in reflexive shock, getting a better look and attempting to assess the situation. Ranma didn't seem agitated. If anything, her expression was amused.

"Ranma, what is _he_ doing here!" Akane demanded in a high-pitched and slightly accusatory tone of voice.

"Hmm?" Ranma looked up, seeming to notice their presence for the first time. "Oh. Gosh, the better question is, what are _you_ doing there? Wearing _that_?"

Akane flushed, looking down to realize she was wearing only a pyjama top, along with her panties. She whirled on Ukyo. "Why didn't you tell me!"

Ukyo sighed. "I tried, honey, I tried."

"I needs must know only one thing," Kuno intoned, standing and gazing imperiously at the youngest Tendo girl. "Did _you_ know about this?"

Akane blinked at him. "Know about what?"

"Well, that's one thing to salve my pride, in any case," he continued sorrowfully. "If the both of you had hatched this plan between you..."

"Nope. I take full credit for my brilliance," Ranma answered, still seated at the table, gazing up at Kuno with a slight smirk.

"Is it either of them?" Kuno demanded.

"No. I told you it wasn't Akane. And Ukyo? You must be crazy."

"Crazy? We established that," Kuno pointed out with a put-upon sigh, slumping back into a seated position by the grinning redhead.

"Just _what_ is going on here?" Akane snapped. "Why is he here at this hour?"

"At what hour? Akane, it's one in the afternoon." Ranma blinked again at the clock. "Does anyone want lunch?"

"I'm hungry," Kuno announced. "Running around all night is hard work."

"Uh _huh_," Ranma agreed, with a raised eyebrow.

"I _mean_, why isn't anyone in school?" Akane demanded.

"Akane-san... it's Sunday," Kuno replied patiently.

Having Kuno talk to her as though she'd lost it was not, ideally, how Akane began her day. Her eyebrow twitched. "Ukyo, why didn't you tell me _that_!"

Ukyo shrugged, stretching her arms above her head. "Seemed like more fun?"

"Ooooh!" Akane stomped up the stairs, presumably to put on clothes.

"She _is_ kinda fun, ain't she?" Ranma queried.

"Yeah..." Ukyo shook herself. "Well, anyway... why is Kuno really here, Ranma?" She turned to Kuno. "Why are you really here?"

Ranma grinned at Kuno. "He's seen the light. Kuno, tell her you've seen the light."

Kuno sighed, shrugging as though he was quite put-upon. "I've seen the light," he deadpanned.

"Be more specific than _that_, Kuno."

"Oh, _fine._ That's Saotome Ranma, who turns into a boy, who always could and most likely will continue to do so. The trigger, oddly enough, seems to be water. He gained the curse while in China on a training trip with his father; he was born a boy."

Ranma cleared her throat.

"And she _doesn't_ want to date me."

"And?" Ranma prompted.

"And although I may ask her to my heart's content, Akane does not wish to date me, either."

Ukyo's jaw dropped. "Whooooaaaa..." She grinned, a slow, wondering grin. "H-how...?"

Kuno grinned too, slightly wicked, one side of his lips twitching up. "A dead fish taught me," he murmured.

Ukyo choked on air. "Really?"

Kasumi scooted down the stairs, skidding into the kitchen. "I'm so sorry! Is everything all right?"

Akane followed her. "Kasumi, the world doesn't die off if you don't wake up on time."

"Funny, it seemed like it did," Ukyo whispered, too quietly for the eldest Tendo to hear.

"Where's Ryoga?" Ranma wondered. "Did he sleep here last night?"

Ukyo caught Kuno staring at Ranma, but couldn't interpret the sudden surmise in the older boy's eyes.

"Yes, someplace," Kasumi supplied. "Perhaps the dojo? Something like that?" She yawned. "I could really use some tea."

Ranma moved to the stove. "Here, Kasumi, sit down. Ukyo and I will cook, won't we, Ukyo?"

Ukyo nodded, placed firmly into familiar territory. "Sure. You got some flour and stuff, Ranma?"

Ranma nodded and began to procure ingredients. "Er... Akane, do you mind checking on Ryoga? Make sure he didn't wander off in the night?"

Akane nodded, slipping out the back door and moving to the dojo.

"It's so nice how much concern you're showing for Ryoga," Kasumi observed.

Ranma stiffened slightly, then smiled a bit. "Well, sure. We're friends," she added, handing Ukyo the wire basket of eggs from the refridgerator.

"Tatewaki Kuno, isn't it?" Kasumi murmured politely.

"Madam, today I am everything and nothing," he replied. "I am scarcely able to supply my name, or anything else about me. I change moment to moment. Perhaps tomorrow I shall be a woman. What do you think?"

Kasumi giggled. "I hardly consider it likely, Kuno-san."

"All the same, all the same," Kuno tacked on vaguely. "You are Tendo Kasumi, are you not?"

"Y- er, no. Technically, no. But I will be again, soon."

"After your tea?"

"After my divorce."

Ukyo spun around to face the eldest Tendo girl. "What?"

Ranma shook her head silently at the chef. "Later," she promised.

Kuno blinked, but took this news in good stride. "Well then, I'm certain you must be glad to have your name back."

"Oddly, yes, I will be," Kasumi bit off.

Ranma handed the girl her tea, and placed some in front of Kuno.

"After all of this, I actually get tea?" he inquired with a small laugh. "More than I deserve."

"I won't argue with you," Ranma returned.

Ryoga came in through the back door, Akane following closely behind him. "Whoa. Hello, everyone."

"Morning, Ryoga," Ukyo replied, busying herself with some okonomiyaki mix in a bowl. "Sleep okay?"

"Er... not so well," Ryoga admitted, his eyes finding Ranma, who pretended not to notice.

Akane blinked at Kuno. "What is he _still_ doing here?"

"Akane!" Kasumi chided. "He's our guest!"

"I do not wish to distress your little sister, Kasumi-san. I will go."

"Oh, don't do that!" Kasumi fluttered. "Akane! Apologize to Kuno-san."

Akane gaped slightly. "Er..."

"Oh, you know she's sorry, Kasumi," Ranma interjected, saving Akane from what she obviously saw as a deep humiliation.

"Y-yeah. What he said," Akane filled in, bobbing slightly. "Do you two need any help?"

Ranma nodded. "Set the table, okay?"

Akane grinned. "Okay, Ranma."

"I'll help," Ryoga said. Together, he and Akane had the table set in time for all of them to sit down, setting one more place when Nabiki finally wandered down blearily.

"Itedakimasu!"

* * *

"Ranma..."

The pigtailed boy peered down from the roof. "Ryoga?"

Ryoga bounced up to the slate to land next to the other boy. After staring at Ranma quietly for a moment, he crouched down next to him.

Ranma respected the other boy's silence, sprawling out on the rooftop again, hands behind his head, gazing up at the darkening night sky.

"Are you okay?"

Ranma smiled. "Hey. What brought that on?"

"I'm just wondering, all right? I'm your friend. I can ask."

The other boy's smile widened. "Yeah? So you can admit it? We're friends?"

"It almost became... uh, more than that, yesterday," Ryoga tacked on quietly.

Ranma jerked into a seated position, swiveling to stare at the bandanna'd boy, taken aback byhis sudden frankness. "R-Ryoga?"

"C'mon. It did, Ranma, we... ugh. If your mother hadn't interrupted us, you would've been my first _and _second kiss."

"When I woke up and kissed you, that was your _first_?"

Ryoga slapped his forehead with his open palm. "Ranma..."

"Sorry. I know. I'm just a little bit thrown."

"Me too."

"I mean, I thought you'd be angry at me."

Ryoga sighed. "I'll admit, the thought crossed my mind." He snorted. "Several times, actually. Over and over again. But no matter how I look at it, this has been coming at me for awhile. We both know... that time when you kissed me... I k-kissed you... back."

Ranma examined him in the dim glow of evening, the moon shining on him and highlighting his nearly luminescent flush. "Yeah," Ranma replied simply. "You did, didn't you? So, what did you think of it?"

Ryoga squirmed uncomfortably.

"Maybe that's a lot to ask, so early."

"So early? You mean, you expect this kind of thing to continue?"

Ranma smirked. "It has been, hasn't it? First that dream of mine, then the kiss – then the almost-kiss. And the crying." His face fell. "I can't look at it any other way; I turn to you when I'm in trouble. Not Akane, not Ukyo – you."

"Why?"

Ranma shook his head. "Damned if I know." He snuck a look at Ryoga from out of the corner of his eye. "D'you think about me?"

Ryoga turned even redder. "_Think_ about you!"

"Miss me when you're off in the middle of noplace?"

The Lost Boy swallowed. "What, exactly, are you implying?" At Ranma's bland, unchanging expression, he shook his head vehemently. "Naw. You're trying to trick me into saying I think your girl form's hot, or something. And then you'll tell Akane, throw it back in my face..."

Ranma shrugged. "You're the one who brought it up. Why?"

The other boy froze. "I just... I don't know. I was... I was worried."

"So you _do_ think about me?"

"No! I mean... like a friend thinks about..."

"The other day, you wouldn't admit we were friends when we really were. I think that, now you admit we're friends, we're probably already a little bit beyond that," Ranma cut in.

Ryoga stood. "I don't know why the hell I talk to you, you idiot! I'm trying to make some _sense_ of this, here, and all you do is..."

Ranma leapt to his feet as well, swearing quietly under his breath; but he seemed more agitated with himself than with the Lost Boy. "I'm sorry, Ryoga. I'm doing the best I can. What I meant was, what made you worry?"

Ryoga eyed him suspiciously. "W-well... for awhile there, you were _moping_. The crying was just the culmination, you'd been different all along. I worried the curse was finally getting to you, or something."

Ranma nodded. "Not exactly, but I guess I can see where you got the idea."

"And then you seemed to be so close to Akane, and I didn't know what to make of that, but also closer... to me. To everyone."

"I'm close with Akane like a friend," Ranma murmured.

"Oh? Now that you can admit you're friends, maybe you're really something much more..."

"Touche."

"Anyway, it kept bugging me."

"Sorry I was taking up so much space."

"Well, you _were_! What was I supposed to do? Say, 'gee, Ranma, you've got me worried?'"

"And yet, in the end, that's exactly what you did."

Ryoga smiled weakly. "Yeah. I ran out of ideas."

They shared a small, strained laugh. "Ryoga?"

"What?"

"Thanks for worrying. You an' Akane noticed. No one else really did."

"Oh. Well... you're welcome, I guess."

"Now, back to the question at hand."

Ryoga gulped audibly.

"Do you actually _want_ to kiss me?"

The Lost Boy shook his head vehemently.

"I don't mean like this, idiot," Ranma snapped, gesturing towards his male form.

"If I say no, you'll think I'm saying you're ugly as a girl or something. If I say yes, you'll call me a pervert and hit me from here to kingdom come. Either way I lose."

Ranma smiled evilly. "You might as well tell the truth, then."

The other boy's eyes darted nervously, as though searching for some way to engineer an escape. "Well... I mean... of course, I'm _curious_ about it, the first one was really – I mean... er, it wasn't so bad..." He stared helplessly at Ranma's grinning features. "Aw, _crap_."

"So you liked it."

Ryoga closed his eyes tightly. "Well..."

"A lot?"

"Given the circumstances... I guess. I mean, it was crazy it was okay at _all_..."

Ranma smiled. "That's good then. I liked it a lot, too. You're a decent kisser for your age."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Just how many people have you been kissing, anyway?"

"That's none of your business," Ranma replied coldly. "Unless – you want to _make_ it your business?"

There was a brief period of silence as Ryoga absorbed this statement. "W-what do you mean?"

Ranma merely smiled, a little bit awkwardly, more than a little bit nervously.

"Are you serious? You're not serious." When Ranma merely raised an eyebrow at him, Ryoga paused, a thunderstruck expression painted across his features. "Man..."

"Took the words right outta my mouth, buddy."

Ryoga shook his head in consternation. "My brain hurts."

"That's okay. I wouldn't think that's all that strange, in your case."

"Shut up, Ranma." Ryoga shook his head again. "I... I need to go somewhere to think for awhile."

Ranma eyed him anxiously. "All right. But I need to give you something before you go. You just wait _right there_. Okay? Understand? Don't move."

"Geez, got it, _got_ it."

Five minutes later, Ranma bounded to the roof, bright red hair flying out behind her in the breeze, unbound, whipping like a flag.

Ranma smiled at him tentatively, then with increasing confidence as she read his expression. She strode up to him and allowed her smile to break into a bright grin. And then she kissed him.

Ryoga was slightly less surprised, this time; although he would have liked to have been able to pretend that he hadn't been expecting such a gift, his subconscious had been more than expecting it. Her arms rose to cross behind his neck, her nose nudged lightly against his, and her hips rested almost imperceptibly against his.

And then there was her lips, of course, which darted in and out and between his, her tongue running gently across his lower lip. He found himself leaning against her, pressing her to him desperately, part of him thinking that Ranma would soon realize just what she was doing, and with whom.

When they parted for air, the redhead's smile was small again, sweet and awkward again, as though she were a little bit embarrassed at her display – but her eyes showed no remorse, and a certain joy in the courage that led her to claim him so unashamedly. "Now," she said, in a quiet, intimate voice that brought shivers up and down Ryoga's spine, "now... go think it over, Ryoga..."

* * *

Nabiki opted to sleep in Akane's room rather than take Sachiko away with her. Ranma found it in her heart to be grateful. She might have to wait five years to see Sachiko again, after tonight.

Ryoga was seated across from her on their bed, his grey-green eyes closed, lashes resting against his cheeks. He was seated Indian-style, and holding her hand.

Ranma suppressed the urge to scoot closer for comfort. She didn't know what she was wishing more vehemently – that this could work, or that it couldn't. She wanted to stay with Ryoga so badly... but she couldn't leave that other Ranma to repeat those six years until death found her. It was impossible for her to blithely ignore someone in trouble like that. "Ryoga..." she whispered.

His hand tightened around her own, and she broke her promise not to ease closer to him.

"Ryoga, will you look at me?" she demanded, but softly.

His eyes opened and regarded her somberly. "Yes?"

Her jaw firmed. "Would you kiss me?"

Ryoga's brows lifted abruptly in surprise. "Ranma...?"

"I want to know for sure," she replied cryptically. "I want to kiss you when things aren't so certain between us. I want to kiss you not as your wife. Do you know what I mean?"

Ryoga shook his head, bemused. "No..."

"I guess I want to know if I really love you, or if it was just..."

"What, atmosphere?"

"Don't laugh at me, you jerk. I'm being serious, here."

"Do you think you maybe fooled yourself into liking me?"

"I said 'love'. The least you can do is say the same," Ranma snapped.

"Sorry."

"Things don't seem to move in synch with us. I'm falling apart, you're together. I'm together, you're falling apart." She grinned weakly. "I wanna kiss, you wanna kiss. But almost never at the same time."

He returned her small smile. "Oh, I _want_ to kiss..."

"But now that I'm underage, your golden little heart feels guilty? Ass."

Ryoga's smile looked sick for a minute. "Now that you're not my wife, exactly, my golden little heart feels guilty," he temporized.

"Oh, so age doesn't come into play at all?"

"A little."

She smiled. "How about I take it out of your hands?"

Sighing, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ranma, I know it's you in a _way_. But it feels a little..."

"A little like cheating?"

He nodded morosely.

"Damn you and your Boy Scout ways," she taunted, but something inside her – that expansive feeling she'd gained with his arms around her – was combusting, dying a slow, ashy little death. "So I'll never know if we really love one another..."

"That's not true." He drew her head into his lap and began stroking Ranma's red hair, teasing it between his fingers. "How's that?"

She closed her eyes. "It's... surprisingly nice."

"Mmm. I always liked your hair."

She wished he could talk about something else, something more pertinent, more weighty; something she could hold on to. "Let me know if I'm making it hard for you to concentrate," she murmured, then realized that could be taken in more ways than one.

"Heh."

At least he'd thought it was funny, instead of just another clumsy attempt to go farther down the unbeaten path. Ranma had been as forward as her pride would allow her, and now she had to keep quiet, while Ryoga searched in his mind for the place from which he'd stolen her. Perhaps even for the state of mind in which he'd exercised his power.

_And what, then?_ she had to wonder, searching for something to think about. _Say this works. And I'm back, back to being 'Saotome Ranma: Man Amongst Men'. _The very thought actually made her shudder. _And then I'll be..._

Visions of laughing easily with the Tendo girls, of kissing Ryoga, ran through her head with a painful clarity.

_That will be gone. Sachiko..._

"I wanna see Sachiko."

"She's asleep, Ranma." Ryoga's fingers continued to stroke Ranma's hair.

"No! I wanna see her...!"

Ryoga caught her tears with his thumb, then leaned down to kiss both of her eyelids, teasing the moisture away like he had... Kami-sama, had it been just that morning? Or the morning before that?

"I know you'll have your wife back," Ranma said, the broken undercurrent to her voice surprising even her, "but I'll have to wait for you. Don't you feel any pity?"

Ryoga pulled her to him rather suddenly, shifting her to a seated position. After a determined gaze into her wet eyes, he pressed his lips demandingly to hers.

Ranma melted into him, her hands gripping his hair roughly. They broke after several minutes, panting, their foreheads resting against one another. Desperation, Ranma found, made a great aphrodesiac. She thought she might even sleep with Ryoga in such a state, without any reservations until the morning after. _Amazing what a little despair can do..._ And that, Ranma realized, was finally enough to convince her. After all, you didn't feel this way about leaving a friend, even a really good one.

"Don't you remember, Ryoga? Don't you remember what I told you?"

His eyes scanned her face, astute, as always, at assessing her condition, almost reading her thoughts. "It's running through my mind over and over."

"What I said about throwing my manhood away for a lie..."

"I know, Ranma. I know." He stroked her hair, his other hand resting at the small of her back.

"No... I mean, it's... it's _not_ a lie. It's real." She stared into his eyes until his head dipped slightly in acknowledgement, in understanding.

"It's close to midnight. I'll keep trying, though. Do you want to lie down?"

Ranma blinked away tears and eased herself down onto the bed, her head pillowed once more in his lap, her eyes locked to his. "Geez, Ryoga, huh? Who would've pictured this way back then?" Her nose wrinkled in confusion. "Or right now, depending on how you look at it."

He grinned at her in return, lopsidedly. "Yeah, right? Never – not me and you. Not even under the influence of magical fishing rods, love potions, or cursed jewels."

"With a beautiful little girl sleeping upstairs."

"Nabiki would resent that," Ryoga quipped, trying for humor. "Don't you think?"

"Smartass," Ranma replied, transferring her eyes from his to the living room ceiling. "What time is it now?"

Ryoga looked at his watch. "Twelve-oh-one."

"Happy Anniversary, then," she replied.

For a moment, Ryoga was silent in the darkness. "How...?"

"The girls let me know. It's the fifth one, isn't it? I hope this works. The fifth is special, right? You should spend it with her... not some last-second stand-in. Right?" She yawned.

"Ranma..."

"Don't say a word, Hibiki," she whispered.

"Is it okay to say, 'Happy Anniversary to you, too'?"

"Whether it is or not, you've said it." She smiled at him, though. "And thanks. Even if I don't seem to recall marrying you. Or having your kid. Or anything but your being angry... and my being obnoxious."

"Ranma," he whispered again, a faint reproach in his voice.

"Yeah, I know, I know. All in the past. For you. For me, that's the present. Possibly the future."

"No! Ranma... please try to get along with me. Please! I can't stand the thought of six more years of wandering without anything to my name but a stupidly heavy umbrella and a lot of depressive chi, you know?"

"Heh." Ranma grinned at him, her eyelids heavy. "No prob, Ryoga. I swear I'll be good to you. At least as good as you've been to me."

The lines in his face smoothed, relaxed. "_Thank_ you."

Ranma couldn't think where she'd ever heard the words said with quite that much conviction. It gave her own casual promise much more weight. "Ryoga?"

His attention was all for her. Ranma wondered if she'd go into withdrawl if she made it back. He always listened to her so completely; no one back home had ever done that for her.

"I do love you, you know," she told him.

He smiled like the sun rising on a cold morning. "I'll love you, too," he whispered, and touched his lips to hers.

Ranma closed her eyes to hide the fact that they were filling, turning away from him to hide her features. Several minutes later, she finally dropped off into an uneasy slumber.

* * *

Ranma jolted awake, gazing around Akane's bedroom. "Whaaa...?"

She didn't understand. One minute, she'd been kissing her future husband on the roof of her house, the next... waking up here.

She couldn't help but wonder if she'd dropped off while dusting, the last thing she recalled before her impromptu 'trip', and had a horrible, horrible nightmare. _Not that it was so bad towards the end_, she decided, a silly smile forming.

"Ryoooga!" she called, re-claiming the dust rag that she'd left hanging half off of the yellow lampshade that sat on Akane's bedside table. She gave the shade a halfhearted swipe and slipped out of the bedroom door.

She peered around. The lights in the house were still off, and the glow around her made her realize that it was very early morning, perhaps four or five. She crept to Sachiko's room and peered in, surprised to find Nabiki curled up in a futon on the floor. She had to wonder when Nabiki had popped by to stay over, and why neither she nor Ryoga had opted to wake her up to let her know.

Sachiko stirred in her sleep, whispered, "mama..."

Ranma gasped, then clapped her hand to her lips to prevent herself from waking the baby. Sachiko had uttered her first word...

Ranma shook off her shock and pleased surprise, and began to ascend to the room that she and Ryoga shared, tiptoeing through the half-open door.

Ryoga was sprawled inelegantly against the sheets, one leg straight, the other bent, arms at odd angles. She crept up to him and grinned, preparing to pounce.

The grin faded as her careful eye caught tear-tracks on his cheeks and the sorrow on his face, even while he slept. She changed her mind abruptly and crawled over to perch by him, leaning over to shake him awake. "Ryoga... Ryoga!"

He stirred, scanning the room for a moment before his eyes focused on her face. "Ranma." He sat up rather gingerly, rubbing the small of his back; Ranma realized that the position he was in had to be uncomfortable.

She placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "What's the matter?"

Ryoga sighed heavily, scrubbing a hand through his already-dissheveled hair. "I've failed you," he said quietly.

"Failed me? Failed me how?"

Ryoga shook his head. "I can't do it. I've tried and tried."

The redhead frowned. "Are you still dreaming, Ryoga-kun?"

"Still... dreaming?" He took her by the shoulders and gazed into her blue eyes. "I don't know..." he murmured, a small grin breaking out onto his features. "Am I?"

She shook her head slowly.

"Ranma?"

"Yesss?" she drawled, startled.

He issued a whoop and dragged her from the bed, swinging her through the air as she shrieked and giggled.

"What's got into you?" she demanded when he finally set her feet once more on the ground.

He pulled her tee shirt up to view her stomach, running his fingers lovingly over her scar.

"Well, whatever it is," she breathed, "I wish it got into you more often!"

Ryoga searched her eyes one last time, his expression desperate. "It _is_ really you?"

"No, the Easter Bunny," Ranma replied. "Who were you expecting?"

His gaze continued to pierce her for a moment longer before he wrapped her up in a bone-crushing hug. "Kami-sama," he breathed. "Thank you..."

Ranma's expression had shifted to worry by the time she withdrew. "Now you're scaring me," she said quietly. "What happened? Don't tell me... I really left?"

He nodded.

"Oh, God, Ryoga. How long!"

"Five and a half days," he replied, somber.

"I'm so sorry! You must've gone crazy looking for me..."

"No... because... well, I thought I already had you," he said. "You were here... in a way. Only, er, _younger..._"

Ranma's eyes widened. "I... see. I think." She whirled around, eyes searching, until she discovered _Causality Loops and You_. Dragging the book out, she began to flip through it.

"Where did you send her back? Or... I should say, when?"

"Right after I sent her here," Ryoga replied.

"I thought so," she said after a moment or two of quick scanning.

"Then... shouldn't you recall _everything_ that happened? _Including_ what happened this week? I mean, that was you, too," Ryoga replied. "In your past. So..."

Ranma shook her head. "I remember figuring it out at some point, when I first bought the book – although at the time, I wasn't sure why I was concerned, or even why I bought the stupid thing."

Ryoga observed the volume – its pages were worn and its spine was cracked. It was obvious Ranma had read it several times.

"It's because of when you sent her back," she replied. "Look, I can't have been in nineteen ninety-eight _at the same time as_ the other Ranma. We'd have met one another, which we didn't."

He puzzled that over for a moment. "So you're saying I sent her back to the wrong spot?"

"Well – yes, in a way. You ended up creating a slightly different timeline, separate from this one. That's why I don't recall anything that happened while she was here. I am not _quite_ the future her..." She closed the book, rubbing her right temple with her free hand. "Ugh. My brain hurts."

"So there's no you in the past."

"Never was," Ranma replied blithely. "At least, not in the universe in which she now finds herself. In ours, however... ah. I think I've got it. That's why I recall everything..."

"Will she?" Ryoga inquired, his voice going suddenly quiet as he remembered the promise he'd extracted from the redhead, reaching out to grip Ranma's right hand in his. "Will she remember everything?"

Ranma's expression softened to something like pity as she squeezed his hand in return. "Ah, yes," she said softly. "Yes, she certainly will."

* * *

"I will," Ranma whispered again. "Please listen when I..." She blinked awake. "Uh... did it work?"

She gazed around. She was in Akane's room, which did not look any different from before. She looked down at herself, then shook her head in consternation. Presumably that wouldn't help; it hadn't helped the last time, either.

"Ugggh," Ranma said softly to herself as her stomach roiled and her head pounded. Apparently, the hangover was back in full force. "W-what happened?"

Ryoga came through the door, a pained expression on his face. "Geez, are you all right? I thought you were gone for sure..."

Ranma sighed, a bouyancy filling her as she realized that she could wait a little while before saying goodbye to Sachiko and Ryoga. "Thank goodness." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.

For a moment, he struggled in surprise._ Don't worry, Ryoga, I don't mind! In fact, I'm relieved... And I _am_ your wife, you idiot! Or close enough..._

After a moment or two, Ryoga slumped bonelessly, letting her guide the kiss, and eventually wrapping his arms around her and pressing her to him.

When Ranma drew back for air, Ryoga's eyes fluttered open languidly – then widened to stare at her with a wild terror.

"Ryoga..." she whispered softly. "Ryoga, what's wrong? I'm sorry, I know I'm not exactly your wife, but..."

He pulled away from her and stumbled out the door.

Ranma's eyes flew after him like startled birds. "What...?"

Nabiki was standing in the doorway, staring at her like she'd lost her mind. Nabiki, with a shoulder-length bob cut, and... and a camera in her hands... and staring at her like...

Ranma's legs slid out from under her. _Wait. But... no... this... this didn't happen to me. I didn't start that kiss! _She_ did! Ryoga's wife!_

"Ranma..." Nabiki finally said. She grinned cheekily at the startled redhead. "Boy, are _these_ gonna sell for a fortune!"

Ranma looked after her blankly, vainly having expected Nabiki to ride to her rescue like she had only... only moments before... "No, wait..." Ranma said aloud, but Nabiki had already disappeared down the hallway. The redhead staggered to her feet. _But if I didn't change places with her... if I'm back here at the exact same moment I left... then... then...?_

Then there hadn't _been_ anybody to switch places with?

Then _she_ was the one stuck in the loop! She was in the past _and_ the future... _her_! Her mind snatched at the concept, but it seemed to evade her... how could she be in two places at once?

Well, it wasn't quite two places at _once_, she reasoned slowly. In effect, the Ranma who was waking up in Akane's room in two thousand four was now her past, and this was her future...

And yet, if both women were _her_, what, then, would happen when she turned twenty-three? Would she come back here – _again_, jolted back by her husband's spell? And live those _same six years_ again, only to be jolted back – _again_? And again, and again, until she went insane or died a natural death? _When I'm fifty-eight... will I wake up in this bed... again? Will anyone even be able to tell I'm me by that point? Will my life restart, every six years...?_

Ranma's eyes widened, then blanked as she began to slowly but surely grasp – not understand in some vague and intellectual way, but truly grasp – the concept of eternity... Her future circled out before her like some gigantic snake, determined to crush her in its coils.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Sorry to cut that off riiiight there. I think that the concepts that the Ranmas grasp because of their practical positions are actually very difficult to grasp if you're not in the situation yourself, so it seemed a good place to close, to allow for... rumination.

I think I'll take a moment to state that, in terms of logistics, this is the most annoying story _ever_. Let's just say that multiple diagrams, with arrows, stick-figures and timelines were employed.

I will also add that Ranma-future is correct in her assumption, and Ranma-past is _incorrect_. Why make it two disparate timelines? Isn't that unnecessarily complicated? Work it out on paper if you must. Every other way leads to loops like the one Ranma-past believes herself stuck in.2 I wanted a _happy_ ending, so I couldn't end with one of the Ranmas stuck in a causality loop for all eternity, or until she died a natural death.

This, folks, is not the end!

1 Just a gentle reminder that nothing, _nothing_, happened last night. Get your mind out of the gutter.

2 If you can find another, less complicated way, let me know. Of course, you'll have to explain – coherently – how your idea does NOT lead to a causality loop. So far, this is the only concept I have found that even has the possibility of not leading to one – and even it is on slightly shaky theoretical ground.


	17. Happily Ever After

Thanks so much, everyone, for all your reviews

For waiting and waiting for the story to close

For supporting me when I was so dreadfully flamed

(Some even, in fact, called the pairing 'deranged'!)

For responding to causality loops with precision

For making me post when beset with indecision

For putting up with second-rate poetry and rhyme

For reading this story - for taking the time.

It is mostly because of you that I have decided to jot

A story with new characters, setting, and plot

I hope you will continue to read as you have before,

And bid me farewell as I walk out the door.

* * *

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: **1999-2000**

* * *

"Ranma," Akane whispered softly, reaching out to take Ranma's hand in her own. 

Ranma's eyes found their way to hers, and for a moment he felt pity for her. It had to be rough to be Akane right now, to see her energetic fiancé reduced to this. She didn't deserve it; she was a good kid. "What is it, Akane?" he inquired in the same soft, gentle voice. There was a cool wind coming in from the north, Ranma observed. Winter was on its way.

She brightened almost immediately. "It's... uh..." She obviously hadn't thought he would respond, because she turned red and dithered for a moment. "It's just that... uh, you have a visitor. Ryoga's back."

Ranma stiffened, turning to view her fully for the first time: her worried expression, her slender figure framed in the light coming from inside the house. "Oh, really? The one who got me into this mess? Sure, bring him on out. Why not? It's not like he can do any worse."

Akane blanched, stammered some more, and slipped back inside, leaving Ranma sitting quietly on the back porch facing the dojo.

Ryoga exited the house, took one look at Ranma's bleak features and sat down next to him with a thump. "It's not anything to worry about," Ryoga said without preamble.

Ranma turned to blink at him in surprise. He had gotten used to conveying his thoughts without saying much, over the past several months.

"I mean, you'd just woken up. After hitting your head. No big deal."

Ranma felt the sudden and almost hysterical urge to start laughing. Ryoga thought he was upset because he'd _kissed_ him? "Oh?"

"Yeah... I mean, it's not like you knew what you were doing. So... so no need to mope about it, Ranma... like a little girl or something."

Ranma doubled up, his hands under his knees and made a small choking noise. For a moment, he thought that he'd break the cycle forever by dying then and there.

Then, against his will, his resolve cracked; and hysteria spilled out of him like water rushing over a ruined dam. When he remembered Akane's story about this laughter – how she had seen it as a turning point in his 'condition' – he helplessly laughed some more.

He kept laughing until Ryoga said irritatedly, "glad _one_ of us thinks this is funny."

"I can't help it!" Ranma realized that the laughter was blending into tears down his cheeks. "You... telling me _not_ to be like a girl..."

Ryoga was never one to beat around the bush. "What the hell _happened_ to you, Ranma?"

"I had... a dream. At least, I'm hoping that's what it was. But it's seeming less and less like a dream every moment."

"A nightmare," Ryoga said, "doesn't do crap like this."

"No," Ranma said, his eyes suddenly clear. "It was... it was Twilight-Zone-esque... but it was a real good dream! Real good." He wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Maybe I'm pining away for it."

Ryoga snorted. "You? Fat chance."

Ranma nodded, more to himself than to Ryoga.

"I mean, after all, you're probably just doing this to get Akane-san's attention..."

Ranma didn't realize his fist had gone through the porch until Ryoga's strained and worried exclamation. It was a moment or two after that that he began to feel the pain. "Ouch," he said mildly, shaking his wrist loosely, splattering drops of blood into the wood.

Ryoga was viewing him with different eyes, now, much more carefully, warily. "I'm gonna go get Kasumi..."

"_No_," Ranma protested, softly but intensely. "Don't bother Kasumi, pig-boy." _She's got enough to deal with…_

"Then let me see."

Ranma blinked down at their entwined hands, an instant flush covering his cheeks. _Please don't let him see!_

Ryoga tsked under his breath, pulling wooden splinters out of Ranma's right hand with no tenderness, but with a methodical intensity that was so quintessentially _Ryoga_; and seeing it made Ranma love him again, and loving him again felt miserable.

"You know," Ryoga was saying almost conversationally, "depression like this can get you in trouble."

Ranma snorted. "Oh, yeah?"

"Uh huh." Ryoga looked up, meeting his eyes with Ranma's.

Ranma rapidly shifted his own eyes, staring out with hot cheeks across the koi pond to his left automatically. He had the paranoid suspicion that if Ryoga looked him in the eyes and uttered a sympathy, he would completely unravel Pain brought him back to the situation at hand. "Ow! Damn it, Ryoga..."

"Well, don't go punching your hands through crap like that. Idiot."

Ranma brought his breath rapidly through clenched teeth. "You could be a _little_ more gentle..."

Ryoga's eyes met his again, and Ranma swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. "I'm being as gentle as I can," he said, and for a moment it seemed like he had the same voice as Ranma remembered, kind and slow; not through stupidity, but through the need to think over everything carefully before it escaped his mouth and became words, before it garnered the ability to hurt and harm. "It would help if you held still and tried not to flinch."

Ranma's jaw slid shut, but he waited patiently and without jerking his hand away.

"The rest are going to need a magnifying glass," Ryoga said after about ten minutes or so. Then he was silent; but he didn't leave.

Ranma frowned at him in contemplation, before realizing that, like him, Ryoga didn't know how to give comfort to people in pain. He didn't want to leave Ranma, since he felt at least partially responsible for the way Ranma was behaving; but he didn't know how to apologize.

"This'd be easier if you were a girl," Ryoga suddenly commented, looking anxious and confused.

"What?" Ranma glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," the other boy groused, shifting uncomfortably. "Just… it's easier when you're a girl. To talk to you, I mean."

"Sorry to disappoint," Ranma quipped. Then he realized he was smiling ruefully. Smiling – for the first time in weeks. It wasn't fair that Ryoga had so much power over him.

"I'm – I'm not _disappointed_!" Ryoga exclaimed. "I just – I don't know how to deal with kissing a guy. If it had been Akane acting weird, or Ukyo, I could, I don't know, explain it easier to myself."

"Go back to Akane, then, if that's where you want to be," Ranma spat, wrapping his arms about his knees, being careful not to abuse his damaged hand. "_She's _a real girl after all."

The other martial artist eyed him warily at first, the hint of fear leaving his features slowly, leaving him looking only worried – but he was still immobile, Ranma noted. It was good of him, the pigtailed martial artist decided, for wanting to help so badly, even if he didn't know how. The empty space gave Ranma some time to collect his thoughts.

"I'm sorry," Ranma muttered. "I didn't mean it like that. I know you're trying to think of the right thing to say, and I really do appreciate that, that you care enough to try so hard, I mean. But there isn't any right thing, so you can stop looking."

It was the most he'd said at once since he had woken up here.

Ryoga eyed him with an oddly blank expression for a moment, then closed his eyes.

"Ryoga…?"

"Don't say a word. I'm trying to picture you as a girl, so just – just shut up a minute, okay?"

Ranma gaped, about to say something he would probably regret, but Ryoga was still talking.

"I'm sorry you're hurt," he blurted, eyes squeezed tightly shut. "I'm sorry if I'm the one that hurt you." He opened his eyes. "There."

Ranma blinked at him and snorted, once; a laugh escaped him again, although he tried to hold it back. This time it felt pretty good, not as though he were smashing himself inside with every sound.

Leave it to Ryoga to apologize at just the right moment, for just the right thing, without even knowing why he should.

Ryoga looked puzzled, and slightly injured. "It's not a hentai thing to think, Ranma. It's not! You _kissed _me!"

"And you kissed me back!" Ranma shot back. _Ranma, you idiot,_ he thought as he saw the expression drain from Ryoga's face.

"I don't have to listen to this," Ryoga said in a voice without affect, standing jerkily. "I'm not – we're not having this conversation!" He stormed off of the porch and disappeared around the house before Ranma's brain, still awakening after a long period of deadened disuse, could come up with a pithy reply.

The numbness settled again over Ranma like a straitjacket.

* * *

Ranma stood at the makeshift altar in the Tendo backyard, watching Akane walk down the aisle. The youngest Tendo looked more than nervous; she actually appeared distressed, eyes red-rimmed and bouquet of flowers slightly unsteady in her clasped hands. Ranma couldn't help but wonder why she seemed to be ready to go through with it when it was rather obvious that they'd lost interest in one another a long time ago. 

Well, admittedly, it was more like Ranma had lost interest in everything and everybody, but he wasn't one to quibble. In fact, he was startled, mildly, by the presence of the curiosity at all. Perhaps Nabiki had woken it in him the day before, when she told him she was planning on stopping the wedding before it ever came to completion.

She never got the chance; Ryoga beat her to it.

"Not a chance, Ranma!" he called out. "Prepare to die!" He ran at Ranma with his fists, not even bothering to use his traditional weapon.

Ranma didn't avoid the hit, he simply rolled with it. Ryoga landed on top of him, and Ranma held quiet and still. Looking up into the martial artist's enraged features with blank, half-lidded eyes, Ranma said calmly, "Do it then. Go on; I really don't mind." His eyes found Akane's. "She might not even mind, by now."

Akane was standing, watching the both of them, her own expression surprisingly blank, her lips one, compressed line. By now, they had attracted the attention of a small crowd of their guests.

Ryoga didn't move. "What?" he finally managed.

"Go on, I said," Ranma repeated, and allowed his eyes to slide shut. _Do it, Ryoga,_ he found himself thinking forcefully. _Break the cycle. Break it! Go on!_ He didn't care anymore – didn't care that it was in front of Akane, his whole family. He wanted it to be over.

A moment passed, a moment that seemed like an eternity to both boys. Finally, Ryoga slid off of Ranma, grabbed him by the forearm and pulled him to his feet. Ranma's eyes flew open as he remembered a very similar scene between himself and Ryoga... right after a certain trio of Tendo sisters walked in.

Why was he in this tuxedo? What a joke!

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but I won't stand for it," Ryoga hissed at him, shoving him away and stalking off.

"Funny way of showing your support," Ranma said to himself, massaging his arm. Ryoga's grip hadn't exactly been gentle.

Ranma watched as Nabiki caught up to Ryoga and interposed herself between the Lost Boy and his route of escape; watched her lips move with more interest than he'd felt in a long time. What could she be saying?

"Now that _that_ difficulty is out of the way," Soun was saying from his position near the gazebo they had erected in the Tendos' backyard. "The quickest version of the vows, I should think," he added, gazing around the yard anxiously.

The monk who was marrying the pair nodded. "All right then. Want to join your hands in holy matrimony?"

"Uh," Akane said timidly.

"Oh, yes, and does anyone object?"

"**I DO**!"

Ranma and Akane whirled towards their audience at the veritable chorus of voices.

Ryoga growled. "I object, damn it! Ranma, you're not getting Akane that easily!"

Ranma slapped his palm to his forehead. "Idiot. Sachiko named you well."

"I object too," Nabiki cut in, her voice hard and acerbic. "There's no way that these two should be married; they're too young, and Ranma's... Ranma's not himself."

There was a deep sigh as Genma stood up ponderously. "Well, in that case... Ranma, you idiot of a boy... I guess I object too. With reservation!"

Soun growled. "Saotome!"

"Sit down and shut up!" Genma roared suddenly, seeming to imitate Happousai and Soun's demon-head technique.

Ranma felt a little more awake with every moment, with every voice. He looked at Akane. "Sorry, but they're right, ain't they?"

Akane nodded slowly, tears brimming in her eyes.

"It's not right. I'm sorry to put you through this. Someday..." He smiled at her gently. "Someday you'll wear that dress again, and you'll get married... but not today."

Akane shook her head, seeming beyond words. "Ranma!" And she threw her arms around him.

Ranma stiffened, his eyes widening in surprise; but a moment later he relaxed, his arms coming up easily around her. "I'm sorry, tomboy," he said quietly into her hair. He was surprised to find he meant it with all that was left of him. "I'm _really _sorry. Lookin' real good, though."

She gave a helpless laugh into his shoulder. "Idiot. But this is the smartest thing you've done in a long, long time." Her body shivered, and she whispered even softer: "do you love him?"

Ranma froze. "Love who?"

"Dummy," she repeated. "Let me know what I can do." She drew away, then, tears in her eyes and a wry, mocking smile on her face – mocking him, her, the white dress, the situation, the tear stains on the shoulder of his tuxedo. She moved determinedly into the house, tossing the bouquet into their trash bins without pausing.

Nabiki was standing beside him. "Some guy's going to be real lucky someday, huh, Ranma?"

"Yeah..." Ranma murmured. "Wait. Huh?"

"I may not be very well versed in affairs of the heart," she confessed, still staring after her little sister, "but I still know the end of a relationship when I see one." She patted him on the back. "I don't think she'll cry anymore except on Valentine's Day and Christmas. Good job."

Ranma looked at the Tendo girl and it came rushing back to him, the way she had advised and guided him in that future plane. Just now she looked more like her future-self than the grasping girl he had come to know. "Nabiki," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being like this."

She blinked at him, tucking a bit of hair behind one ear, a ploy for time, eyes gazing at some indeterminate point over his left shoulder. "Your father was up all night last night, you know, and so was Akane, so, well… We're all worried. Someday, you'll have to let us know what this is all about. It – it isn't because of me, is it?" Nabiki inquired in a small voice, still focused not on Ranma, but on that same middle-distance.

Ranma shook his head. "No, it's me, Nabiki. My fault. Honestly." Gazing over Nabiki's shoulder, he caught sight of Ryoga glaring at the two of them ominously. When Ranma quirked a confused brow, the other boy growled and stormed away.

* * *

"Listen to me, father," Kasumi said in her most pleasant yet undisputable tone of voice. "It is my life and I'll do with it what I choose. If I want to become a ballerina and join the circus, even something so stupid is my business. And going to school to become a chiropractor is hardly so ridiculous." 

Soun whined back at her. "But Kasumi... who will clean this house? Who will cook? Akane can't manage it; Nabiki's never shown an interest. What will we do without you?"

"You're leaving one child out," Kasumi replied, bringing Ranma-onna before her abruptly.

Ranma blinked. "Huh?"

"You're good at it," Akane admitted grudgingly. "And I can do things like..." She cleared her throat, coloring. "I can do things like wash the vegetables and set the table."

Ranma grinned at her. "Sounds good, Akane-chan."

Once Kasumi left for school, the pair began to cook in the kitchen. Marvelous scents began to waft out from under the kitchen door. "Perhaps this wasn't a bad idea after all, eh, Saotome?" Soun inquired heartily.

Genma was staring out at the koi pond. "What was that? Oh! Yes, it's a marvelous idea. Ranma always had a good hand for cooking, even on the road."

"What I mean is, perhaps it will bring our two children together! Didn't you hear what Ranma called my Akane? The schools shall finally be united!"

Genma was blinking at his friend in undisguised shock. "Were you _at_ the wedding?"

Soun glossed over his obviously disheartened friend's comment with a smile and a wave. "Just listen to them! They are becoming closer and closer… and someday soon, perhaps we shall see some grandchildren, eh, Saotome?"

Genma grumbled under his breath: "the only way you'll ever see children come from Ranma is if he ever manages to talk to that Ryoga boy without stumbling over his own tongue."

Soun stared.

"I may be stubborn, but I'm not blind," Genma said roughly. "Don't you have eyes and ears? Ranma and Akane are more like siblings, and Ranma's set his sights on–"

"Enough!" Soun looked torn between bawling and yelling. "To say such things... in my own house! How could you, Genma? I thought we were friends! My poor Akane... to have such a deviant fiancé...!"

"You'd do your 'poor Akane' a disservice by marrying her to Ranma!" Genma returned crossly. "And my son is NOT a deviant! And anyone who calls him a deviant will have to answer to me!"

Soun sensed abruptly that he'd gone too far. "Now, now, Saotome. You'll forgive me; I'm not thinking about what I'm saying. Let's continue this discussion a little later, with cooler heads."

Behind the closed, yet thin kitchen door, Ranma and Akane were staring at one another in shock; Ranma holding a paring knife, Akane holding a potato under a cool stream of water at the kitchen sink.

A week later, Soun left on a quest to find the cure for Ranma's curse.

Genma categorically refused to join him.

* * *

"So where were you this time?" 

"Borneo, if it's any of your business." Ryoga tapped his umbrella meditatively into the ground. "And..." He appeared to be struggling with some silent enemy, his face contorting angrily. "And... and how are you doing?"

Ranma's eyes widened. "Much better, thanks. Uhm... thank you for objecting at the wedding."

"Huh!" Ryoga jerked upright from his examination of the soil at his feet.

"It meant a lot. I appreciate it."

"You just live to hurt Akane, don't you?" he demanded sadly.

Akane herself appeared on the back porch. "Ryoga! I didn't see you there!" she announced cheerfully, her eyes sliding from the Lost Boy and back to Ranma, taking note of the faint blush she saw on both faces.

Ryoga continued to glare at Ranma in frustration. "Why the hell didn't you marry her! You... you had her, at the altar..."

Akane blinked. "Uhm, _hello_...?"

"Uh, hi, Akane," Ryoga said with a polite bow. "Sorry, Ranma and I are having a very _important_ conversation." He whirled to face the pigtailed boy. "And I'm still waiting for an answer."

Akane sighed and rolled her eyes. "Boys are dense. Have I ever told you that?" Then she disappeared back into the house.

"I couldn't marry Akane as I was back then, Ryoga. You know that." Ranma couldn't keep his voice from being gentle. "And anyway, the truth was that I didn't want to marry her at all. We like each other. Maybe once we loved each other. But whatever we had then, it's different from what we have now. A lot... a lot easier. A lot smoother. Less excitement, but a lot less pain, too." He moved to perch on the deck, seating himself Indian-style.

Ryoga stood quiet for a moment, finally nodding in agreement. "I can see how that could be," he admitted wryly, moving to sit on the water-barrel that sat behind the house.

Ranma flinched, hearing again something of how he remembered Ryoga in the other boy's soft, self-mocking voice.

"Anyway, I came to see you because..." Ryoga's fists clenched. "Because..." He turned half-away, only viewing the other boy out of the corner of his eye. "Well, I came to – to apologize to you."

"Apologize for what!"

"Uh, for kissing you. So, uhm, I'm sorry – even though you kissed me and it's all your fault."

Ranma snorted. "Funny."

"It's NOT my fault!" Ryoga continued grimly. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Pull away," Ranma suggested. "Fight a little harder."

Ryoga was turning red. "I don't know what happened, okay! It... it was scary! At first, I wanted to get away... I tried really hard to get away, but you're very strong... even in your girl form." He closed his eyes tightly, and his clenched fists quivered. "I was about to break free, when you did that stupid technique on me and drained me dry."

"Technique?" Ranma inquired mildly, finding himself less uncomfortable than he would have supposed, with Ryoga talking about it this blandly.

"Yeah, the technique... you must've picked it up from Ms. Hinako. All the fight just drained out of me, and all I could do was..."

"Was be kissed," Ranma filled in. "I see." He cleared his throat. "So how did your arms end up around me?"

Ryoga's voice was small. "I don't remember _doing_ that! I just knew I must've when I came to myself and I was... holding you."

Ranma barked a laugh. "No kidding!"

"How dare you laugh at me!" Ryoga shot back. "With all the shit you've pulled, I'm surprised I didn't do more than just kiss back!"

"Huh!"

"Pretending to be my girlfriend all the time... my sister... my fiancée! Damn it, Ranma, you've screwed me up for life!"

Ranma frowned, irritated at Ryoga, but also concerned at the distress he saw in the other boy's eyes. "Ryoga..."

"And don't say my name like that! Like you give a damn, because I know you don't! You're always laughing at me! This is just another opportunity to poke fun at P-chan, huh! Is that it!"

"Yes, Ryoga. I pretended suicidal depression just to get to you," Ranma deadpanned, waving his hand dismissively.

"Maybe!" Ryoga shot back, his eyes wild. "With all that you do, it isn't surprising that I... that I..."

"That you what exactly?" Ranma inquired, leaning slightly forward.

Ryoga's shouts fizzled into nothing. He became almost eerily silent. His eyes shut tightly again, as if he wanted to block Ranma from his vision. To Ranma's surprise, tears began to form at the corners of his eyes.

Something told Ranma that a touch or a kind word could end this discussion; he'd find himself flat on his back with a good old Ryoga footprint in the face. But then Ryoga kept his silence. It seemed he couldn't say what he had to say, or get up to leave, just as before.

"It sucks, doesn't it? To not know what you want," Ranma finally interjected.

Ryoga met his sympathetic gaze and acerbic words with surprise, quickly covered by heavily guarded wariness. "I _know_ I don't want this..."

"Then what's the trouble?" Ranma demanded. "Get out of here, then, you're taking up space."

The hurt on Ryoga's features seemed to intensify, and Ranma found himself crouching in front of the Lost Boy, looking up into his features to assure him of his good intent. "I'm sorry, Ryoga. I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. Me an' my big mouth..."

The other boy laughed oddly, not angered by Ranma's closeness, but looking, if anything, even closer to imminent breakdown. "I was just going to say... I don't want it... but..." He laughed again, a small, choked-off sound. "...I can't seem to help it..."

Ranma's features crumpled in the face of Ryoga's obvious pain. "I'm sorry. I've hurt you, and I can't fix it."

"I just... can't stop dreaming about her! You. Her! It's not real. It was just a kiss! A kiss... with a _fictional _person... and so now I'm in love with an illusion." His eyes finally met Ranma's – wild and empty and more than a little desperate. "Ranma, I'm in love with your girl half." Then he closed his eyes again, tightly, pressing his palms to his forehead as if that would somehow contain his anguish.

Ranma shook his head with a sigh, still crouched in front of the seated Lost Boy. "There's no such thing," he finally said quietly, "as my girl-half."

Ryoga slapped his forehead rapidly with his palms. "I know! I know all that! Don't you think I -!"

Ranma grabbed his wrists, stopping their destructive motions. "You're in love with _me_."

Ryoga stared at him blankly for a moment. "You're... you're crazy."

"I know you are, but what am I? Besides, I thought we'd established that awhile back when I decided to turn the back deck into a practice dummy," Ranma replied, his voice calm and almost casual.

"Huh? Yeah... I mean... what the hell are you saying, anyway?"

"You're the one who said it. You're in love with me."

"That's not what I said!"

"That's what you meant."

"It isn't!"

"Listen, Ryoga," Ranma went on in tones of firm clarity. "Listen to me. Me and what you call my girl-half are the same person. Just who do you think you fell for? You're not Kuno, to separate us entirely because it's more _convenient_ for you." The martial artist's blue-eyed gaze suddenly hardened, became searching and wary. "Are you?"

Ryoga's lips were parted slightly in surprise, and he silently shook his head a small distance in negation.

"No," Ranma agreed. "Which means I'm the one you love."

"But that's even worse," Ryoga whispered, panic shining in his eyes.

Ranma sighed, releasing him from his gaze, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He stood, turning half away from the other boy, and shrugged. "I know."

For another moment, they were both silent. Then, Ryoga stood abruptly. "I'll go," he said. "I'll go, and I'll never come back."

Ranma sprang to his feet, too, alarmed. "What! Why?" He sobered, eyeing Ryoga hopefully. "I mean... you don't have to."

"What?"

"You love me... I... really like you..." He flushed.

Ryoga flinched. "Stop teasing me, Ranma!"

"I'm not teasing you."

Ryoga turned away from him. "Damn it, Ranma... this hurts! Please..."

"Look at me," Ranma commanded. "No, _look_. I'm serious. Dead serious."

The other boy scanned his features, as though he could divine Ranma's sincerity.

Ryoga's wide and wild eyes worried him. A small tenderness, a kind word had the ability to destroy him, Ranma realized, because he'd had so little of either. Slowly he slid back, away from the other boy, who was breathing heavily, like a hunted and wounded animal.

"See?" Ryoga breathed, misinterpreting Ranma's sudden wariness. "I knew... I knew it was a trick..."

"It's not a trick – you looked like you were in pain." He tilted his head to one side and took him in, concern and doubt filling him in equal quantities. "I'm ready for you. Really ready. But you're not ready for me." His eyes grew hard, flashed a challenge. "When you're ready, come on back. I'll be waiting." For a moment, the old grin shone on Ranma's features; then the pigtailed martial artist disappeared back into the house.

Ryoga did the only thing he could think to do.

He got lost.

* * *

Ranma was surprised to see him on the front porch. She couldn't help it. As much as she felt she knew the future for certain, she felt almost as certain that she'd bungled it all miserably somehow, made him run away from her. But now here he was. It was storming. He was standing under his wide umbrella. He wouldn't look at her. 

"Come in," she said, stepping back to allow him space. "How are you?"

He swept inside, folding his umbrella and leaning against the wall. He closed the door behind him before turning to her. "Miserable," he replied, with a rough chuckle. "How am I always?"

She eyed him curiously as he followed her back into the kitchen, stirring a host of memories Ranma knew she shouldn't have. Abruptly, his words flooded her mind: "_I can't stand the thought of six more years of wandering without anything to my name but a stupidly heavy umbrella and a lot of depressive chi..."_

"And you?" he tacked on suddenly, strain cracking his voice.

_Miserable, too_. "Well, I've been all right, I guess," she replied. "It sucks that Kasumi's gone – she's such a good cook she made it look easy. Mom's been by to help out sometimes, but she has her own house to deal with, so now it's mostly up to me..."

"You?"

She nodded. "I'm just getting started now." Ranma opened the refrigerator, pulling out vegetables and chicken stock. "I thought I'd do some soup and bread. The weather's so miserable..." Ranma _wanted_ to stop herself chattering, but she couldn't seem to. "I made the chicken stock last night, so everything's set to go–"

"Ranma."

"–and Akane's coming home after practice tonight, so–"

"Ranma!"

Ranma forced her mouth shut with extreme willpower. "Yeah?"

Ryoga's lips thinned. "Uh... I..." He stopped, suddenly, throwing his hands up in the air. "Damn it!" he swore. "This shouldn't be so hard. This shouldn't feel so insane."

She smiled at him, crookedly. "You haven't stopped dreaming about me?"

His voice was quiet, and haunted. "No."

She grinned wider, feeling her cheeks heat. "I'm glad."

Ryoga looked tense as a drawn blade. "Don't look at me that way! It's creepy."

"I don't understand," Ranma said, frowning. "This is pretty simple stuff. I want to be with you. You want to be with me. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that you're a guy! We're both... so we can't!"

"Who says?" Ranma replied, daring him to answer, her blue eyes stabbing through him. "Do you say so? Have you made up this rule?"

"No, of course not," Ryoga answered. "Everyone says so. Not just me."

"Who's everyone?" Ranma demanded.

"You know... everyone. Kingdom, country, I don't know."

She smiled at him, wanting to laugh – but her smile dissolved as she recalled her own initial reactions to Ryoga. He looked close to breaking point – a tough place to be. Was he just wishing she would grab him and kiss him and not let him go? She knew that thought had been in her darkest heart almost from the very beginning – that the whole business would be over, and she could settle for being docile, submissive, and second-best if he just made her his, and got it over with.

Was Ryoga thinking along those lines, too, wondering why she wouldn't just take the decision out of his hands?

"Why can't you leave me alone?" he was murmuring plaintively.

"Is that helping?" Ranma inquired. "It's been nearly a year since that kiss, you know. I'm feeling better," she added slowly, almost to herself. "I think I could recover from it. From all of it."

Ryoga's breath caught, and a fleeting expression of pain decorated his features, then was lost.

"But I really don't _want_ to," Ranma informed him solemnly, edging a small step closer. "I have a pretty good picture of how we could be. I've got that picture in me, you know. I depend on it all the time."

Ryoga's eyes were scanning hers, his expression still one of confusion, but she noted that his breathing had deepened and some of the squareness of his shoulders had smoothed. He was relaxing in her presence, and it was good to see.

"So I can't leave you alone; don't want to. Besides, I promised."

"Who?"

"That's a secret," Ranma replied with a grin. "But I swore I'd stick by you."

"So you're doing this because you promised someone." It wasn't a question. In fact, Ryoga seemed almost relieved, and he stepped unconsciously away from the redhead. "For a minute there, I thought you meant it."

"Is there a problem with wanting to hang around you?" Ranma inquired, beginning to get frustrated.

"Of course there is!" he snapped. "Until I can figure out what happened to you, what's wrong, I can't fix it!"

Ranma blinked at him, her jaw dropping in shock.

"What?" Ryoga demanded belligerently.

Ranma blinked at his flushed features, his hair, wild around his eyes, and his rigid stance and blurted, "There's no spell or reversal jewel or potion. Not even love arrows or koi rods. I'm not tricking you, you know. I'm sorry I ever did. It just – it struck me as funny – in a horrible sort of way – that you would assume anyone who showed an interest in you had to be bewitched."

Ryoga winced. It was blatantly obvious that he hadn't thought of it that way.

Ranma examined him in the surreally bright glow of the kitchen's florescent lights. "I like you," she said. "I might even love you someday soon." She smiled, her heart racing; she could feel the warmth in her cheeks. "There may be extenuating circumstances," she admitted, "but the truth is I like you because of who you are." She reclaimed his personal space, moving close enough to look up into his eyes with all of the conviction she could summon. "Because you're Ryoga."

The breath hitched in his throat as he looked down at her; so much incredulity was trapped in his gaze.

"Do you hear me?" she demanded, whapping him on the chest with her fist. "Say something, you dummy!"

He nodded. "I... hear you. I don't understand, though. Not even a little."

She grinned. "That's all right. It'll come to you, I'm sure." She drew him down to her, then kissed him gently on the lips, very softly and carefully. Then she drew back to examine him, searching for signs of distress. "Okay?" she managed.

His eyes were still wide and confused, but they were also still locked to hers. He nodded. "Okay, Ranma," he said hoarsely.

She leaned over towards him again, applying a little bit more pressure this time. Gently, she sucked on his lower lip. He had taught her how to do this; she had taught him. She buried her face in his neck, hiding herself, trying to hide the feeling of home he was to her.

He wasn't doing much, but she didn't blame him; her first kisses with him had been much the same. When she finally withdrew from his embrace, those eyes of his were dark with wonder. He had relaxed completely into her, and his features held the warmth and solemnity she had missed so badly.

"I don't care if you're tricking me," he told her, one of his hands reaching out tentatively, nervously, to cup her cheek. She leaned into his touch. "It doesn't matter to me anymore, so long as…" He flushed, embarrassed even then. "So long as you'll do that at least one more time."

Ranma grinned. "But it's not a trick. You'll see that it isn't."

"Or... I've got it! It's another dream..."

The redhead shrugged. "If you like." She grinned. "A good one, this time around."

He nodded, a grin across his own features, as he leaned in to capture her lips with his.

* * *

Ranma flashed her teeth nervously at Nabiki's camera. "Hi, everyone!" she said. "It's my wedding day! Can you believe it?" 

"_No_."

Ranma swiveled quickly to glare at Nabiki. "Heh heh. Right. No one can. Me least of all. Anyway, thought I'd be marrying a girl at least."

"Shut up, Ranma!" Akane growled. "I'm trying to fix this bouquet, you idiot," she murmured softly.

"Yeah. Anyway... it's because he got me knocked up, the bastard..."

Akane threw a safety pin, Nabiki threw her bra and Ukyo threw a small vase at her, but she wove around them expertly. "Oh, all right. It's really 'cause he used these magical love arrows on me..." She shook her head sadly, as if at the manipulation of all men.

Akane snuck up behind her and smashed the bouquet over her head.

"Ite! Oh, all right. I just... I love him... that's all." Ranma still didn't quite know how to say it, and she didn't think anyone would believe her if she tried. She blushed and shifted her feet. "Ain't that enough? I know we'll be happy together. I'm one-hundred percent sure we'll be happy..." _For four more years at least..._ "Mou, I can't say anything right when I want to!"

Nabiki turned the camera back to Ranma. "Come on, Ranma, fess up. Why do you love Ryoga?"

"Why?" Ranma wondered pensively. How to answer that question?

"Yeah, Ranma," Ukyo cut in. "Tell the camera why. This is for posterity, you know."

"Well, uh... lessie. He's the only one who comes close to me in martial arts... uh, he's nice... and real cute. And dependable, once you attach a tracking device."

Laughter sounded from off-screen. "That's changing," Kasumi protested gently. "He made it all the way to the clinic yesterday and back."

"And, uh... he smells good. And holds me tight. And kisses like he was born knowing how."

"Hope that's not all he does!" Nabiki jibed.

The girls whooped in delight. "Go, Ranma!" Akane cheered.

Ranma cast about, turning almost in a full circle. "Where's my father? Isn't he supposed to be here by now?"

"Sure he's supposed to be," Nabiki said, "but when has that ever mattered?"

"I'm sure he'll be here, Ranma," Kasumi soothed.

"No, I mean... I... I _remember_ him being here..."

"What is she talking about?" Ukyo wondered.

"Pre-wedding jitters," Kasumi replied sagely. "That and all the sake I made her drink before coming."

The other girls turned to stare.

"I'm kidding. Kidding!" Kasumi exclaimed. "Do you think I'm Daddy, to do the same stupid thing twice?"

Nabiki and Akane relaxed.

"Where is my husband, anyway?" Kasumi inquired. "I'm going to go and make sure..."

Kuno poked his head into the dressing room. "Decent?"

Kasumi perked up. "I was just wondering about you, dear."

"Wondering what, now?" he inquired, stepping carefully inside. "I'm sorry to say there's a great deal to ponder over."

Kasumi giggled. "You're so silly. I was wondering if it was time to change, yet."

"I'd say so. Ryoga's already there, and looking as nervous as..." He paused. "Oddly enough, no appropriate analogy comes to mind."

Ranma stared at him. "You must be nervous, too."

"Yes, that certainly _is_ a first," Nabiki added flatly.

"You girls are _never_ going to let me live high school down..."

Kasumi kissed him on the cheek. "Flee before us, dear. Ranma needs to change."

"But how will she get married that way?"

Ranma chucked a shoe at him, but it only hit the closed door. "Once an idiot, always an idiot." She tsked. "Whoops. Sorry Kasumi."

"Yes, but he's _my_ idiot," Kasumi replied placidly. "Where's the veil?"

Ranma glared at Nabiki. "If you turn that camera on when I'm changing, you'll regret it."

"Easy, Ranma, easy. I promised. I swore. Don't you believe in Tendo honor?"

Ranma rolled her eyes. "When my husband flies. I see your hands twitching towards a camera and you won't have any hands to twitch. Got me?"

Nabiki blinked. "Easy, Ranma," she repeated, but she didn't move.

"Where's Dad?" Ranma repeated, her own fingers twitching.

"Don't know, but here's the dress," Ukyo said with a grin. "Here we go. First one leg, then the other."

Ranma stepped into the white monstrosity, her hands on Ukyo's shoulder for balance. "He should be here."

Kasumi stole up behind her to place the veil.

"Careful of the hair!" Akane warned.

"Damn it, this is the weirdest bit of crossdressing I've ever done." Ranma caught a blinking light on the edge of Nabiki's camera. "Damn it! Is that thing on!" She turned to glare at Nabiki, who flinched.

"An honest mistake," she mouthed.

_At least now I know where I am in the when_, Ranma thought. _Dad still has time..._

A minute or so later, Genma slid through the door, and the redhead felt her heart lift in relief. She grinned. "Let's do this," she said.

Ranma waited for Nabiki to turn off the camera. "Only... one second," she said.

"Huh?" Genma turned to gape as Ranma ran to the makeup bag. "Here," she said, pressing a small box into his hands. "This is Ryoga's fifth anniversary present."

"What? Fifth? And why are you giving it to me?"

Ranma's intense expression held her father's. "Up until now I wasn't sure that I wasn't involving myself in a self-fulfilling prophecy. But the videotape clinches it. Hold on to this box. The day before today, five years from now, give it to Ryoga or to me. Don't let anyone else deliver it for you. Let us know it's important." She closed his fingers over the small box. "Frankly, I think I already broke the loop when I woke up _after_ I'd left, and I think I noticed a couple of differences in the video, but this is just to be sure."

"What's in it?" Genma whispered.

"Just a note saying, 'don't send her back', along with the present; I'm not certain I'll be there to give it to him. If it ever comes to that, they'll understand."

"Who's 'they'!" he demanded.

The wedding march began out in the hall.

"I'll tell you during the father-daughter dance at the reception. Okay?"

"I suppose it'll have to be."

"Thanks, Pops. And if you forget the damned thing, I'll find some way to punish you!" She lanced him with her sharp blue eyes. "I'll find a way!"

He gulped. "Uh, I won't forget, Ranma."

She grinned at him as Akane and Ukyo began to walk down the aisle ahead of her. She grinned at the audience – at Cologne, at her mother, at anyone who'd smile back and those who looked bewildered alike. Her smile became radiant for the man standing with the monk who would marry them. He looked confused, too, or bemused; like he wasn't quite sure how he'd managed to win the smile she was offering him. _Oh, but you _don't_ deserve it... yet,_ she thought, her grin turning a little wicked.

The mischievous turn of her lips was doing things to him. He blushed bright red.

She walked with wide but measured steps towards a future that was, for the first time in a long time, truly uncharted territory.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

This was, in some ways, a very quick write. I wrote it in about three days of intense plot creation, creating symbolic sketches of Ranma's time travel, the way she saw it (as switching places with someone else) and the way it actually was (that is, switching with herself.) As I stated last time, Ranma is now in a completely different timeline, disparate from the first. (If you'll notice, things are going _very_ slightly differently from how it was explained to Ranma in 2004.) If Ryoga followed Ranma's advice and 'didn't send her back', it would create paradox and loopiness, too, so it's lucky that no one can depend on Genma. He probably pawned the gift a loonng time ago.

It took three days of _viable _plot creation, but literally dozens of pages of this story were cut over time! Some of these I'll post as deleted scenes because they're funny, telling or interesting, despite not furthering the plot. For instance, The Tendo sisters, Ukyo, and Ranma's girls' night in was documented far more extensively in the original; and Kasumi explained causality loops in a rare moment of genius. After I'd finished, I wondered what kind of crack I was on. Kasumi can't explain causality loops! Most physicists can't. I figured that Nabiki could refer to it; those who wanted to, could think about it, hard. Those who didn't could skim past it with a shrug and take Nabiki's word for it that Ranma's remaining in the future would be very, very bad. For those of you with a burning interest (and a desire to snatch at infinity with your brain, and miss) that deleted scene will also be included on the website.

Overall, I have no idea how this one popped into mind. I guess I was thinking about old stories of mine, and wondering how Ranma would view being married to a guy for years. Wouldn't take it well, would he? But what if that guy was a good guy... and pretty cool and understanding? Could Ranma fall in love again? Answer: yes, but only if she was later snatched away for appropriate pathos. The odd sci-fi sort of element snuck in later on.

This is also a work that has a depressingly large backstory, most of which was never incorporated into the tale. Well, can't have everything.

Thank you so much for reading this story, responding to my writing, and giving feedback. I can't tell you how fascinating it is to read everyone's take on causality loops; I highly recommend going to the reviews and checking them out for Chapter 16.

Oh, and bless you all for waiting so long.

-Kirinin


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